Bereisen Sie die Universe
by Gothic-Princess-77
Summary: Changes made to fit in with the next stories after what happened in the game. This is what REALLY happened during the game! Title is German. You don't understand German? Look it up on Google translate!
1. Prolouge

Hey, so, this is how I felt the game should have gone, because there wasn't enough mystery in it, and so I made one where the female character...has a PERSONALITY! *Gasp* Anyway, review please. (Forgive the lack of good title) Disclaimer- I do not own Magical Starsign; the game and plot belongs to Brownie Brown. Credit given where credit is due.

* * *

><p>PROLOGUE: DREAMS &amp; DISAPPEARING TEACHERS<p>

Nadia was dreaming. She knew perfectly well she was dreaming, because she was see-through. "_Nadia!" _Someone called to her. I glanced around and saw a dark brown haired girl. She approached me and smiled. I smiled back, feeling oddly safe, as if I had always looked to her to shield me.

"_Hello, sister,_" the girl said. "_Hello,"_ I replied. "_Do you feel it?"_ She asked. I was truly puzzled. "_Feel what?"_ I asked. She sighed. "_Pay close attention, it's in the air, the trees, it's everywhere. Something is about to happen, someone is about to upset what you've known for a while now." _I frowned. "_What do you mean?"_ I asked._ "I cannot come_ _right out and tell you,"_ she replied. "_And when you awaken, you will remember very little of our conversation."_ There was a roaring sound, then a crash. The girl started to fade. "_Wait! Please, I need help!"_ I begged. She looked panicked._ "Remember, there is always hope! I must go, or I will be punished harshly." "Wait! Don't go! I have so many questions! Come back!"_

But she was gone, leaving me alone with whatever was coming. The roaring grew louder, then out of nowhere appeared a black shadow. I took off running. I ran as fast as I could, but the thing was faster. It came rushing on me, and I was knocked to the ground. I screamed, covering my face, hoping my magic would prevent some damage. Claws dug into my skin, and I screamed, this time in pain. The scratching continued, and then it suddenly stopped.

~SCHOOL~SCHOOL~

I awoke with a start, gasping for air. I was drenched in sweat, and there was pain in my side and back. I reached to my side, and when I pulled my hand away, there was blood. I gasped. But, it was just a dream! I've never had more than a few bruises from a dream! I thought. I quickly got up and exited my dorm, rushing down the hall to the bathroom, and locking myself in.

I lifted up my shirt and turned around to observe my back in the mirror. The marks weren't long, but they were deep. "I should wash the scratches then go see the nurse," I muttered. It took a little bit, but I finally cleaned the marks. My shirt was covered in blood, and people were starting to awaken for the day, but I had to make sure the marks didn't get infected. So I gathered my courage, opened the door, and half walked, half ran to the nurse's office. I was almost there when someone called out to me.

"Nadia!" I spun around and saw my friends Lassi and Chai rushing towards me. I couldn't blow them off, they would just get suspicious. So I waited. I was well aware of people stopping to look at the blood all over my shirt, and I could feel even more blood seeping out of the wounds, but I remained where I was. My friends finally reached me. "Nadia!" Lassi exclaimed. "I didn't expect to see you up this early! Are you ok? I heard screaming coming from your dorm this morning," Lassi babbled.

Chai looked at me with concern. "Nadia, why are you covered in blood?" He inquired softly. Lassi stopped babbling and looked at me, as if she hadn't seen the blood earlier. She was the only one who knew that sometimes my dreams attacked me, in a sense. Either way, she was a good actress. "Nadia! What happened? Come on! Let's get you to the nurse!" She marched me in to see Nurse Peppermint.

Sometimes, my little bunny friend knew just what I needed. Nurse Peppermint took one glance at the blood all over my shirt, and then rushed over to me, and yanked my shirt off to inspect my back. Chai blushed and slowly backed out of the room. I felt my face heating up. How embarrassing! I thought. At least I had been too tired to take off my bra last night. Nurse Peppermint put an ointment on my back that stung and made me cry out.

When she was done, she declared I was free to go get ready for class. She didn't ask where the scars had come from. I quickly put my shirt on, and took off out the door, with Lassi right behind me. We ran to my dorm, and Lassi stopped to wait outside.

I pulled on a pair of shorts, put on a tank top, and pulled on my knee high boots. I grabbed a twisty for my hair, and pulled my long, flowing blond hair back into a ponytail.I snatched the necklace my mother had left me and put it on, grabbed my books, and barreled out the door. Lassi hopped to her feet as I came out, and together we ran to class.

~SCHOOL~SCHOOL~

We dashed into the classroom, only to discover we hadn't needed to rush. Miss Madeleine was late, again. We unpacked and Lassi went over to the door to watch for our teacher as I sat down at my desk.

My friends were talking around me, and a red headed, stubborn, fire magician turned to me. "Hey, Nadia, where's Miss Madeleine? Class probably should have started by now! Do you think she's missing or something?" Pico inquired. "Chill, hothead," my friend Sorbet chimed in. "She's just late, it happens every other day." "How many times is it now? Like, 50?" Chai chimed in. "When's SHE gunna get a slip, that's what I want to know!" "Back in your seats!" Lassi yelled. "She's coming!"

Everyone dashed back to their seats, and Lassi had just sat down when Miss Madeleine charged into the room. "Gooooood morning students!" She chirped as she stumbled to her desk. "I'm sure you were all studying quietly while waiting for me, hm?"

The class started to buzz. "Miss Madeleine, you know you are late yet again!" My friend Mokka called out. "Yeah!" Pico yelled. "You never get in trouble for being late but when I forget my homework, who 'happens' to get detention? Me! If I get held back again this year, I'm holding you responsible!" He said with a grimace.

"Oh, I'm so sorry my students, I'll never be late again, I promise!" Miss Madeleine said with a giggle.

~SCHOOL~SCHOOL~

Pico, Sorbet, Chai and I were strolling down the halls after class when we saw Mokka and Lassi standing close together in front of Principal Biscotti's office. We walked over to them. "Hey," Sorbet said. Lassi and Mokka jumped and spun around. Pico laughed quietly. "Why so jumpy? Were you guys kissing or something?" Pico asked. Lassi blushed a little bit, and I felt sorry for her.

She really liked Mokka, but he didn't return her feelings. I reached over and punched Pico. "What?" He said. "What'd I do?" "You're being stupid," Mokka replied. "Why would I waste my time on that?" I saw Lassi's face fall. She was crushed. I gave Mokka my evil eye, but he didn't notice any more than anyone else noticed that Lassi liked Mokka.

"So, what are you guys doing?" Chai asked somewhat loudly. "Shh!" Lassi hissed. "Listen closely!" We heard Miss Madeleine and Principal Biscotti's voices.

BISCOTTI: I'm afraid you're the only one who can deal with this. Leave your students with me, and we will await your return.

MADELEINE: But, Puffoon, really, why?

BISCOTTI: There is a very troublesome wizard there who is running amok, and he might listen to you, his former teacher.

MADELEINE: Wait, are you talking about Kale? He was always a shy boy, how could he be any trouble?

BISCOTTI: Well, he has a group of pirates under his control, and he has become a ruthless man. It may come to blows, and I ask you defend yourself if that happens.

Lassi didn't wait anymore. She busted through the door and ran up to our teacher, with the rest of us right behind her. "Miss Madeleine, you aren't really leaving, are you? You can't!" Lassi sobbed. "Teacher, all the talk about space and pirates and evil wizards, you aren't honestly planning on going into space, are you?" Sorbet asked with tears in her eyes.

"Please, students! You weren't meant to hear this discussion!" Miss Madeleine exclaimed. Principal Biscotti ushered us out. Miss Madeleine turned to us as we stood in front of our principal's office. "Meet me in the meditation room in five minutes," Miss Madeleine stated before walking away.

~SCHOOL~SCHOOL~

Five minutes later, we were gathered in the meditation room. "Something is wrong!" Lassi exclaimed. "Someone is turning our lives upside down!" Her words clicked in my brain. _"Someone is about to upset what you've known for a while now."_ Who had said those words to me? What else had been said? "Why can't I remember!" I muttered under my breath. Everyone turned to look at me.

"Is something wrong, Nadia?" Chai asked. I blushed, realizing I had asked the last question aloud. "It's nothing, nothing at all," I said dismissively. Everyone turned back to Lassi when she spoke. "I bet something's wrong 'cause of what Pico did!" She exclaimed. "What? You can't prove anything!" He exclaimed. He then realized what he had said hadn't helped his cause and he quickly mended his sentence.

"I mean, I didn't DO anything! Not that I can think of, at least," he finished. Mokka turned to me. "Nadia, will you go ask Miss Madeleine what's going on?" He asked. "Yeah!" Everyone else said encouragingly. "Sure, I guess," I muttered. I strolled over to where Miss Madeleine sat and tapped her on the shoulder. "Oh, Nadia, have you been here long?" She asked.

Everyone else rushed forward behind me. "What's going on Miss Madeleine?" Chai asked. "The universe can be a very dangerous place, and it's about time I taught you to defend yourselves, but this isn't standard spell-flinging, so listen well," she stated. "Nadia, please step forward," she requested. I obliged. Everyone else rushed back, falling over each other to get out of the way.

A magic dummy was brought forth, and Miss Madeleine taught me how to fight it, using only basics. My physical abilities were weak, but my dark magic was very strong. Next, she asked Chai and me to step forward, and we both blushed when we remembered what happened today. Using Chai and I as examples, she explained about rows. When she was done teaching about rows, she called Sorbet and me forward and taught about planets and starsign relationships.

"Do you understand the basics?" Miss Madeleine asked. "Yes," we all said. "Good, now for your final crash course exam." Three magic dummies appeared, and two rushed towards Sorbet, and she screamed as they hit her.

Pico appeared and shoved them out of the way. Chai freaked out as the fire bound magic dummies all realized he was easy prey with his wood magic. They rushed towards him, and I acted on instinct, sending a die of dark magic rushing towards the dummies.

One was completely crushed by my magic, and another was blown away by Lassi's wind magic. Now only one remained, and he was being strategic. He saw Lassi's defense fall, and he rushed towards her, but I warned Lassi, and she dodged.

Pico attacked, and the dummy was destroyed. I got a sense of accomplishment and did a flip. Lassi jumped up and down, and the others also started flipping and jumping with joy. We backed away from the fighting space and I collapsed on the ground, with Lassi, Chai, Sorbet, and Pico falling on top of me. "Ouch," I muttered. "Had enough?" Miss Madeleine asked. We all groaned in response. "Good, these basics are to be used only in the most dangerous of situations, understood?" "Wait, since you taught us all this stuff and it's only to be used in dangerous times, does that mean we're going with you?" Pico asked. "So wait, we're all going to Puffoon, now? Cool," Chai said.

"No, I'll be going alone, kids. Yes quite alone. And yet, I've got a fore shadowy feeling. If something happens to me, I would like you to be prepared," Miss Madeleine explained. "Nothing could happen to you! You're Miss Madeleine, you know just about everything!" Mokka exclaimed. "That's a lot of knowledge for one person, Mokka. Sometimes, knowledge can be a great and deadly burden," I said in a tone of prophecy.

Everyone turned to look at me. "Huh?" Chai asked. "What's that even mean?" I came back to myself with a start. I looked around at my friends. "What?" I asked. "Why are you all looking at me like that?" "Nadia, don't you remember what you just said?" Lassi asked. I glanced around at everyone, puzzled. "I said something?" I asked. I stared off into the distance, frowning.

"Anyway, class dismissed. I'll be leaving tomorrow, and I will see you all when I return," Miss Madeleine said. She wasn't kidding, the next day she left, and Principal Biscotti looked very sad and worried. Another three months passed before action was taken.

* * *

><p>Ta-da, the prolouge! Review please!<p> 


	2. Erd

Chapter 1! This is when the action starts! Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign, Brownie Brown does. Credit given where credit is due.

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 1: THE SEARCH, &amp; ERD<p>

I was waiting in the meditation room with Sorbet and Mokka. Mokka was trying to convince me to fight him in order to gather more strength when Pico and Chai barged in. They glanced around. "Nope, not here," Pico stated. "Yeah, she's definitely not here," Chai confirmed. "Who're you guys looking for?" Sorbet asked.

"We, uh, lost Lassi," Pico confessed. "She totally went nuts, saying she was going to fly into space and save Miss Madeleine!" Chai exclaimed. "How would she do that? Wait. Maybe," Sorbet started, and then trailed off. "What?" Pico asked. "Remember that prank the seniors played on the freshmen?" Sorbet inquired.

"Oh, yeah! That was hilarious!" Pico exclaimed. "Yeah!" Mokka said, laughing. "Chai, you were all like 'where's the rocket?' And the seniors came out of nowhere and attacked you with fire magic!" Pico and Mokka were laughing so hard they collapsed on the floor laughing. Sorbet rolled her eyes. "Knock it off you two!" I snapped. "If I remember correctly, the two of you also fell for the trick!"

They shut up pretty quick when I said that. Chai gave me a grateful look. "What if it really exists?" I asked excitedly. "Let's go find it!" Chai exclaimed. He and Pico ran out of the room, with Sorbet following them, after saying: "those hopeless dorks won't get anywhere without my help!" "This is stupid, we're going to get laughed at again, right, Nadia?" Mokka asked. I didn't reply.

I was practically bursting with excitement. I dashed out of the room before Mokka could say anything else. Imagine, rockets in the school! I ran past Pico and towards the stairs, where I had just seen Chai. "Did you find something, Nadia?" He called out, as he followed behind me. We both ran up the stairs and ran to the door at the end of the hall. We saw Chai standing in the middle of the room. "Hey, Pico, Nadia! Sorbet said she saw something in the storage closet up above and went to take a look." I left Pico and Chai to discuss theories as I took off up another flight of stairs and yanked open the door to the storage closet, and then ran into the room, nearly colliding with Sorbet in front of a wall that looked climbable.

"Hey, Nadia," she greeted me. "Do you think we could climb up this wall?" She asked. Suddenly, Mokka barged in. "Did you find the rocket?" He asked. "No, not yet," I replied. "But let's see what's up here," I said, grabbing one of the bricks and hauling myself up the wall.

I arrived in a room with strange machines. "Whoa," I whispered. Images started flashing in my head. I gasped and fell to my knees. Images of a dark room, people, machines, needles, the smell of fear and death, and then a boy. He had spiky dark brown hair, and greenish yellowish eyes. He reached out a hand. "Nadia!" I heard Sorbet calling my name.

"Huh?" I asked as I stood up. "Hey, Mokka, what're all these machines?" Sorbet asked. He had a look on his face that he had never had before. Was that fear I saw? "Whoa!" Sorbet yelled. "Forget the machines, what is that door?" I exclaimed. "The school has no record of this door. Interesting," Mokka said thoughtfully. I walked forward and tapped on the door. To my surprise, the door opened its eyes? "What is the meaning of this!" The door boomed. "You seek to open the door to the heavens?" He asked. "Uh, sure, yeah," I stammered. "I can grant access only to those who have great power! Show me your power!" The door bellowed.

"Uh, power?" I mumbled in puzzlement. "Your dark magic!" Sorbet exclaimed. "Oh, yeah!" I yelled. I started to chant. "Dark night! Hear my cry! Lend me your strength! Come again, envelop the world, and darken the sun!" I spun and the darkness started to pulse. "Whoa," Sorbet muttered. "I see no light! The world is darkening! We are doomed!" Mokka cried out.

Then the dark was gone. "The door to the heavens now opens!" The door yelled. The doors slowly pulled apart, and I spun around. "Your power has helped me! Thank you, darkness!" I called out. "Nadia, you actually opened the door!" Mokka exclaimed in shock. I wasn't even listening. I shot through the door and came to a really long ladder.

I grabbed the first rung and started to climb. I heard Mokka, Sorbet, Chai, and Pico clambering after me. I finally came to the top and what I saw took my breath away. Rockets! Six of them! I dashed forward and stood in front of the rockets in awe. My four friends came up behind me. "So, this is a rocket?" Sorbet asked. "These rockets seem to be in excellent condition! They could definitely fly into space!" Mokka claimed. "Wow!" Pico yelled. "No way! The rumors actually had some truth in them!" Chai exclaimed.

I stepped closer to the rockets, initiating some kind of launch, because we heard a beeping sound, like a siren. "Oh no!" I cried out. "Lassi!" She seemed to be having a wild time pushing random buttons. The ground started to shake and tremble, and we all stared in wide-eyed shock as the roof opened up. "The roof just OPENED!" Pico screamed. "Thank you, captain obvious," Sorbet muttered. Inside, I saw Lassi pull a lever, and next thing I knew, I was being thrown backwards.

~ERD~ERD~

I groaned and sat up. I rushed around to my friends. Pico was buried in rubble, Sorbet and Mokka were stunned, and poor Chai had been practically thrown down the ladder. "Chai, wake up!" I said, shaking him. "Urgh, five more minutes," he muttered.

I gave up and glanced around frantically. I couldn't wait for everyone to wake up, so I would have to go after Lassi alone. I boarded a rocket. The rocket mumbled some things that I actually understood. Then the lever appeared. As I prepared to pull the lever, a thought occurred to me. How did I know how to fly a rocket? I've never been in a rocket flying class before, so why did I know how to fly one?

Outside the rocket, Pico and Chai were waking up. I yanked down the lever before I could change my mind, or the two of them could stop me, and then I was off, beginning my grand adventure. I followed Lassi's rocket through space, easily avoiding colliding with Lassi's rocket, and a bunch of rocks. I looked out the window. Kovomaka was getting smaller.

I gasped when I saw Lassi's rocket slam into a rock, and her rocket swerved out of control, crashing into even more rocks as she fell towards another planet. I had no idea how to land this rocket, so I steered my rocket towards the planet, hoping Lassi would be ok. My rocket did a nose dive towards the planet. I randomly pushed buttons, willing the rocket to land normally instead of crash landing, but it was too late. I heard Lassi's rocket hit first, then I felt my ship make impact, and the world went dark.

~ERD~ERD~

I groaned and rolled over. "Where am I?" I asked myself. Then, everything came rushing back. "Lassi!" I yelled, jumping to my feet. I started running through the sandstorm to my right, hoping to find the bunny girl. I kept running, and then nearly tripped over Lassi. "Lassi!" I exclaimed. "Ohh, I need…..water. Get the kovo water from the rocket."

I dashed over to Lassi's rocket, grabbed the kovo water, then ran back to Lassi and gave her the water. She gulped it down, then sprang to her feet. "Ok, I feel MUCH better!" She declared. "Don't scare me like that!" I yelled. "Huh? Nadia? What're you doing here? Wait, where are we anyway?" "Don't you remember?" I asked.

"Nope, I remember blasting off, then zooming through space for a while, and that's it." I sighed. "Come on, let's try to find help," I stated, before leading the way north.

We walked north for a while before the wind started to push us back. "Lassi, use your wind magic!" I shouted. "Hear me wind, Hear my call! Dancing in the sky….. Shaping the clouds….. Whispering to the heavens….. Hear my plea, and send your gale!" The wind burst forth, and I was practically thrown into oblivion, but I got lucky and managed to hold onto something.

When the sky cleared, Lassi spun around, and then jumped in a thankful way, before opening her eyes and looking around. "Woohoo! I did it! The sandstorm's gone!" She yelled happily. She glanced back at me. "Don't worry Nadia, I'm sure your dark magic will lend some help soon enough!" She exclaimed.

Just then, two claws erupted from the ground in front of us, and finally a head burst forth. "Ack!" Lassi yelled. "Ant lion!" I screamed. The creature brought its tail forth and attempted to smack Lassi, but she dodged aside. I brought my hands up.

"Shadow Die!" I yelled. A spark flashed and the spell attacked the Ant Lion. The die exploded in a flash of dark sparkles. "Wind Talon!" I heard Lassi shout. Then the wind smacked into the creature, causing it to retreat into the sand. We jumped up and down for joy, and I did a quick flip. "Wow! Did you see how powerful you were just now! That was amazing, Nadia!"

I beamed. "Thanks, Lassi, but we should probably move along before that Ant Lion comes back!" "Right!" She agreed, and then we took off, running north.

~ERD~ERD~

We ran for what felt like hours before we came to a stop in front of a giant building. "Wow! Amazing!" I exclaimed. Lassi looked at the building nervously. I went forward to enter the building. "Uh, Nadia, are you going in there?" Lassi inquired. "Well, duh!" I exclaimed in exasperation. "Ok, I'm coming too!" Lassi exclaimed.

Together we walked into the building. It was really dark inside, and as we went towards the elevator, four robot guards jumped out at us. "Intruders! Eliminate!" One robot yelled. "Eeep!" Lassi screamed. "Run!" I shouted. We dodged and weaved, and finally dove into the elevator. It took us up to the second floor and as I went to step through Lassi suddenly stopped.

I turned towards her. "What's wrong, Lassi?" I asked her. "I want to go back!" She wailed. "No," I replied firmly before stepping into the second elevator, leaving Lassi with no choice except to follow me. We arrived on the third floor, and as we stepped out Lassi asked: "Hey, Nadia, isn't that a rocket?" "Yep!" I declared. "We should use it to get to Puffoon, don't you think?" I asked her. "Duh!" She exclaimed.

We ran forward to get on, but, out of nowhere, more robots appeared. "Not again!" I shouted. Behind us, came a red robot who punched us with an electric knuckle. But, before they could take us away, a boy ran out. He used strong dark magic, easily taking out all of the robots. He then proceeded to drag us onto the space ship and barricade us in. I finally gave up and let the darkness envelop me, for I had no strength left.

~ERD~ERD~

I awoke with a groan. "What happened?" I moaned. A boy with shaggy blond hair and kind blue eyes looked down at me. "Are you alright?" He asked me. "Y-yes," I stammered. He smiled and helped me stand. I noticed he was muscular. "My name's Eric," he said. "I'm Nadia," I replied. "Well, Nadia, I must say I think you're beautiful," he stated, as if it was simple to state his feelings like that. "Thanks," I said, blushing. He smiled again.

I heard Lassi giggle and I realized she was awake and listening to our conversation. I spun towards her. "Hehehe, Nadia, you've got yet another admirer," Lassi giggled. I blushed again. I turned back to Eric. "Do you have any idea how we're even going to get the bucket of bolts in the air?" I asked him. "I have an idea," he admitted. "I noticed how all of the ruins are powered by a tower of power, which can only be activated by wind magic. I was thinking, if we have your friend give the rocket a charge, we can get into space," he finished. I thought for a moment. "That might just work," I concluded.

"Come on, Lassi; get this bucket of bolts off the ground!" I exclaimed. "Okey-dokey, boss!" Lassi replied cheerily. She walked over to where the main engine resided, and started to chant. "Hear me wind, Hear my call! Dancing in the sky….. Shaping the clouds….. Whispering to the heavens….. Hear my plea, and send your gale!" She directed her uncontrollable wind power towards the engine, which, in turn, started the engine.

Then, suddenly, the rocket came alive, blasting out of the open roof that Eric had undoubtedly opened for us. Sadly, we had no control of the rocket and soon crashed into the water on the next planet.


	3. Cassia

Next chapter! Review please. Disclaimer- I own nothing.

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 2: CASSIA<p>

The three of us stepped out onto an ice floe on the next planet. "Brr!" I exclaimed with a shiver. "It's really cold!" Eric declared. "Is this a water planet, or an ice planet?" Lassi questioned. I shrugged in response. "How are we going to get off this piece of ice?" Lassi yelled in outrage. I shrugged again. "I have an idea!" Eric declared. "Lassi should use her wind magic!" He proposed. "Hey, that's a really good idea!" I exclaimed, catching on. "Go on Lassi, try it!" We both urged her. "Uh-ok," she said. "Hear me wind, Hear my call! Dancing in the sky….. Shaping the clouds….. Whispering to the heavens….. Hear my plea, and send your gale!" The wind picked up, and soon it was swirling around us in epic proportions. Eric held me close, as if he was afraid I would be blown away like a leaf, and I was grateful, because Lassi's wind magic was so strong, it most likely could blow me away. The wind raged for what felt like forever, before calming down.

I glanced out and saw that Lassi had created a kind of bridge out of ice floes. She did her thankful spin. "Look!" She called back to us. "See what I made?" She then fully turned towards us and then snickered. "Are you two love birds done holding each other yet?" She asked mischievously. I blushed and tried to pull away, but Eric wouldn't let go of me. I looked up at him. "Eric….?" He looked down at me. "The ice could be fragile, I think I should carry you across," he stated. Then, without another word, he picked me up and started to carry me across the bridge. Lassi started laughing like a maniac, and struggled to follow us, but it was clear she was having trouble with that because she couldn't breathe very well because she was laughing so hard. I gasped as I realized what he had done, and I started struggling. "Let go of me! Put me down! I can walk, you know!" I screamed indignantly. "Easy, Princess," he soothed. "I just want to make sure you're safe, and the safest place I could think of is right here, in my arms, where you can't get hurt." I stopped struggling and blushed slightly. No one had ever shown enough care about me, not like this.

It was actually….kind of….sweet. I sighed inwardly. I knew these emotions coming alive inside me. I was quickly falling head-over-heels in love with Eric. Why was he just so….loveable? We arrived on the beach, and Eric reluctantly put me down. I was a little disappointed he had, but I didn't complain. We walked through the frozen tundra, and everywhere we looked, all we saw were frozen things. We finally came to a little staircase that, I hoped, led to a town of some kind, but there, collapsed right in front of us, was a headless robot, who looked a lot like Mokka. "EEEP!" Lassi screeched. She collapsed next to the lifeless Mokka. "Mokka? Mokka? Speak to me! Where's your head? Don't be dead! Don't die on me now!" Lassi whimpered, and then burst into tears. I was completely speechless, and turned, shell-shocked, towards Eric with tears in my eyes. "Look away, sweetheart," he whispered, pulling me into his arms. I sobbed quietly into his chest. I wiped my eyes of tears after a minute and turned towards Lassi, tapping her shoulder. "Come on, Lassi. Get up. We're going to find and punish whoever did this to our friend." She nodded, seeming slightly cheered by my pep-talk. Together, the three of us turned, and walked towards where we hoped a town was.

We walked north, and finally came to a town. "Welcome to Port Pescato!" One otter exclaimed. I nodded to him. We wandered around town, talking to whoever we met, asking who might need a robot head, but no one knew anything, that is, until we found an otter girl. "Oh, Mick has a furnace. If your robot's head is missing, Mick might be using it as a battery." "What?" Lassi yelled. I opened my mouth in shock. "Which one is Mick?" Eric asked her. "That guy over there, talking to Detective Beignet," the otter said, pointing. Lassi didn't hesitate. She dashed over to the otter. "Hey, you! I've got some questions for you!" She exclaimed. "Can it wait?" Mick asked "NO!" Lassi bellowed. "Alright, alright, calm down girlie," the otter muttered. "Why don't we talk in my house, where it's nice and warm?" He asked. The three of us walked into Mick's house, and on the top of his furnace, was something very…disturbing. "Oh, gross!" I exclaimed. "That's Mokka's head!" Lassi yelped. "Huh?" Mick asked. "Hey, you! That is NOT a battery for your furnace, that is our friend's head! Why'd you take it? He needs it in order to live!" Lassi grilled the poor, unfortunate otter. "I didn't TAKE it, I FOUND it!" Mick exclaimed in a meager attempt to defend himself. I walked over and looked closely at it. "It says 'Will-O'-Wisp Academy, Class B, Mokka!'" I declared. "I, er, um, that is," he stammered. "Brain thief! Brain thief!" Lassi screeched. "I'm not a brain thief, little bunny girl!" Mick shouted. "Ooooooooooh, you did NOT just go there! You did NOT just call me little bunny girl!" Lassi yelled in rage. "Hey, Nadia, let's teach this guy a lesson!" Lassi called out to me. "Lassi!" I exclaimed in exasperation. "What?" "We can't fight a defenseless otter with our powerful magic!" I declared. "We should just use punches and kicks instead?" Eric finished. "Am I right?" He asked with a sly grin. I giggled, then blushed. I nodded. He beamed. "Oh, yeah! Got it right!" He yelled in triumph, pumping his fist in the air. I giggled again. "No, please, wait! I'll give back your friend's head if you can find my toolbox key!" Mick yelled. We paused.

"Alright," I started. "Where did you last see your key?" Lassi finished. "A lot of stuff has gone missing lately, and I think I know who's been taking it…. But I don't have any evidence, so I can't really do anything about it…" Mick trailed off. "Uh, Nadia," Lassi said while tapping on my shoulder. "Hm?" I asked. "Uh, is that… a dog?" Lassi asked, pointing. Eric and Mick turned towards the dog. "I knew it!" Mick yelled. "He IS the one who's been taking my things!" Me, Eric, and Lassi all shot off in hot pursuit of the dog. We chased it all the way, just north of town, until we saw a giant snow monster. "Eeep!" Lassi yelped. "The wind is so strong, we can't see clearly!" I called out. "Lassi, use your wind magic!" "OK!" Lassi called back. "Hear me wind, Hear my call! Dancing in the sky….. Shaping the clouds….. Whispering to the heavens….. Hear my plea, and send your gale!" The winds raged around us, and just as quickly as it came, it was gone. I looked at the tree we thought just moments ago was a snow monster in awe as Lassi did her thankful spin. "Oh," Lassi stated. "It was just a tree." I nodded. We spotted the Hermit Lab in front of us, and Lassi and I ran towards it to do battle, with Eric trailing slowly behind. Lassi attacked first. "Wind Talon!" She yelled. I went next. "Shadow Die!" Eric did a flip kick up to the dog. "Wind Talon!" said Lassi. I decided to try out a different spell. It was a stat helper, but it could help us. I cast the spell on Lassi. "Jackpot!" Her power went up. The dog cast the spell Hailstorm on Eric, and since the dog was in power, it did a lot of damage to Eric. Eric went next. "Blood Money!" He yelled. The sparks flew as the dog took damage, and Eric got an amount of health from the dog. Eric's last attack caused the Hermit Lab to surrender. He posted three signs, dropped a treasure chest, then disappeared into the ocean. Lassi went and read the signs while I got the stolen goods and toolbox key from the box. "Come on!" I yelled. "Let's go save Mokka!"

We quickly returned to town, returned everything the dog had stolen, reclaimed Mokka's head, and then returned to Mokka's lifeless body. I reattached all the wires and stepped back. "Mokka, wake up!" Lassi pleaded. We waited a few more moments. "Didn't it work? It didn't, did it? Then, that means, oh, Nadia, he can't be dead, can he?" Lassi sobbed. I simply looked on in silent horror. I turned to Eric. "Its ok," he reassured me. He pulled me into his arms. I started crying quietly. "Beebeep," went Mokka's lifeless body. Lassi looked up hopefully. I turned back towards Mokka, but Eric kept his arms around me, but I didn't mind. Did I dare hope? Was my friend really alive? We heard a whirring sound, then a robotic voice spoke. "Reboot," it said. Mokka slowly stood up, his body going through his basic systems check. "Yay!" Lassi yelled, flinging herself at Mokka and giving him a hug. I clapped my hands in delight. "He's alive!" I exclaimed. "Don't scare us like that!" Lassi scolded him. "Sorry," he apologized. He glanced up at Eric and I. "Nadia, who's this guy?" He asked me. I blushed when I realized Eric still had his arms around me, but I didn't pull away. "This is Eric," I stated. "Eric, this is Mokka." "Hello," Eric said politely. Mokka just nodded towards him. Lassi started asking questions. "Mokka, what are you doing here? How did you get here? Where is everyone else?" She demanded to know. Eric raised an eyebrow, then turned me around to face him. "Everyone else?" He inquired. Mokka answered both Lassi's questions, and Eric's. "I decided someone had to look after you guys. In fact, Pico, Sorbet, and Chai all took off after you two on those rockets back at the academy. Unfortunately, my rocket broke down in space and I had to land on this frozen planet. I wandered around before someone slammed something into the back of my head," he explained. "Someone hit you on the head?" Lassi yelped in rage. "Oh, I bet it was Mick!" She said, heating up. Mokka looked at Lassi as if she had completely lost her mind. "Why do you care?" He asked. Lassi blushed slightly. "Well, I, uh, um," she stammered. I jumped into the conversation to save her. "Well, she's a friend of yours, and it's very upsetting when someone thwacks your friend on the head, and then steals the head!" I exclaimed dramatically. Lassi discreetly gave me a grateful look. "Oh," Mokka said. "Anyway, how did all three of you get here? Did you crash a three-seater rocket?" "Nope!" Lassi declared proudly. "We'll show you our rocket!" Mokka followed us, puzzled. We went to the ice floe bridge, and, without warning, Eric picked me up. Lassi beamed at me, and I blushed. Mokka looked startled, and he definitely didn't look too happy about it. Eric refused to put me down when we got to the rocket, but I didn't protest. Mokka looked at us grumpily, then turned to the rocket. "Where did you get this rocket? It doesn't look like the ones from the academy. Did you steal it?" He asked. "Well, yes, but we have an excuse for stealing it! All these robots, they kept attacking us, and tried to throw us in jail!" Lassi started. "Then, Eric came and saved us, and helped us figure out how to get the rocket in the air, and he's a hero!" I finished. "I see…." Mokka replied.

He glared at Eric, but no one really noticed, because both Lassi and I were looking at Eric with adoration in our eyes. Eric blushed at my praise. "Eric's so smart!" Lassi said adoringly. "And handsome!" I added, blushing slightly. He looked at us both in exasperation. "No, really, I'm nothing compared to you two. Nadia, you're a very beautiful girl, and I can't compare to you in any way, and Lassi, you're the most powerful wind magician I've ever met!" Eric declared. Even though he praised Lassi too, he was talking to me, mainly. I blushed a bright red, and giggled. Mokka interrupted our moment, by saying: "Are we going to fly to Puffoon now?" He asked. "Well," Lassi started. "It's not that simple," I finished. "The rocket doesn't fly where we want it to, it just seems to land wherever it feels like landing," Lassi added. Mokka looked puzzled as he looked around inside the rocket. "This is interesting, there is no control device, that could make traveling to different planets difficult," he said. We stood in silence for a while. "I've got an idea!" I declared. The other three turned to look at me. "I saw some dwarves when we were in town, and dwarves can fix just about anything, so let's go ask them to fix our rocket!" I declared excitedly. Eric looked thoughtful. "That could work," he said slowly. "It's worth a try!" Lassi jumped in. "I agree, let's go," Mokka added. Eric picked me up again, and we went back towards town.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

We arrived at the stairs and Eric reluctantly put me down. We walked forward, and reached the town gates. "Hey, wait," called out an otter that was standing off to the side. "Are you kids magicians?" He asked excitedly. "What's it to you?" I snapped. "Hold on, don't go all snappy on me, just listen. You've most likely figured out that the pirates around here froze this planet, and if you destroy the freezing machine, I'm sure the locals would thank you, with cash," he finished. "I don't think so, I just want to find my friends and save my teacher so we can get back to our school," I said hesitantly. "There are other powerful magicians like you?" He asked excitedly. I stepped back, suddenly feeling uneasy. The strange otter sensed my unease, and quickly made amends. "Look, if you reconsider, the pirates are in the dragon god cave just north of town, so uh, see you later," he finished before running off. "That was weird," Lassi said. I nodded in agreement. We ran to the right side of town, and entered the dwarves' hut. "Will one of you please fix our rocket?" I begged. "Awe, I'd sure like to, kid, but dwarves like us aren't motivated to do much of anything when we're freezing," one said. "If you will do something about this cold, we'll definitely fix up your rocket," another one offered. "Not like you'll do anything," a third one muttered. I glanced at my friends. Lassi sighed. "Looks like we're going to have to go to that cave after all," Mokka said in defeat.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

We arrived in front of the cave, but the entrance was sealed. I looked thoughtfully at the entrance, which was shaped like a dragon's head. "Mokka, try using your earth magic," I ordered. He looked at me in confusion, but followed my orders. "Still Soil, sturdy earth, solid rock, release your grasp! You are the chains that bind, you are the hands that hold, release your grasp, and let the world crumble!" Mokka unleashed his earth magic, and then the ground started trembling. After what felt like an hour of shaking, it stopped. We waited, and then the dragon head lost a tooth. "That's it?" Lassi asked. "I was expecting something more," I admitted. "Me too," Eric agreed. "Oh, well," Mokka sighed. "Come on!" I declared. We entered the cave, willing to succeed.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

We had encountered many pirate otters, who all challenged us to a fight, and we couldn't get around unless we fought them, so we were now, exhausted. "I don't think I could take another step," Lassi groaned. "My magical abilities have been used up!" Mokka added. "I'm dizzy," I complained. Eric didn't seem too terribly tired, however. "I'll carry you," he offered. Before he could move, two otters came around the corner. "We knew you would be getting tired, so we decided to come help," one stated smugly. "We brought you an HP pot and an MP pot!" The second declared. We decided to use the help the two otters had been kind enough to bring. We drank from both pots, and continued on our way.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

We silently crept into the last tunnel. "All's well over here!" We heard one pirate declare. "Do you know what I think? I think this fire otter business was a bunch of rot, weren't it?" Another questioned his companions. "Of course!" The other two quickly agreed. "Do you wonder if anyone will blame us for freezing this planet solid?" A third chimed in. I stepped fully into the room and quickly, yet quietly, cast my wild magic spell. "Dark night! Hear my cry! Lend me strength! Come again, envelop the world, and darken the sun!" The whole room was then covered in darkness.

When the dark was gone, the three otters turned to look at us all. "Get rid of them!" The first one yelled. Then, they charged towards us and engaged in battle. Lassi went first. "Wind Talon!" The attack charged towards the otter on the right, injuring him greatly. Eric and I were in power, but I was next. "Shadow Die!" The one in the middle was knocked out. Eric went after me. "Shadow Die!" The one on the left vanished. Mokka got skipped because he wasn't very fast. Lassi had another turn. "Wind Talon!" She attacked the last otter, who was knocked out. The three otters slowly backed away from us. "You have great magic, you must not be ordinary children," a strange voice spoke calmly. "Huh?" I asked. "Look!" Lassi cried. "On the machine!" Mokka exclaimed. I looked up. A mysterious man with an even stranger mask stood on top of the machine. "Let's see how much power you wield!" He yelled, before jumping down to fight us.

Eric, the man, and I all powered up, because it was night. Lassi joined us, as her planet had just moved into alignment. Lassi went first. "Wind Talon!" I went after her, as always. "Shadow Die!" Our opponent went next. "Finger Pointer!" Our attention was drawn to the icicle over our heads. Eric went after the strange man. "Shadow Die!" Mokka went last, being the slowest. "Gravel Pounder!" So went the cycle. "Wind Talon!" "Shadow Die!" "Icicle Fall!" "Shadow Die!" "Gravel Pounder!" "Wind Talon!" "Shadow Die!" Fortunately, after I cast my spell, the man was defeated. "Urgh, I didn't know, there were magicians like you still around," he muttered, looking only at me when he spoke. "Flattery will get you no where, Chard," Eric broke in fiercely. "Cap'n? Who are these magicians?" One otter inquired. "They were intended as a gift, from Caldarroste" Chard explained. The otter in offense rushed in at that moment. "You're the otter who suggested coming here!" I shouted. He ignored me. "What do you think, Master Chard? Can I be a pirate now?" He asked eagerly. "Oh, and the dark girl said she had other friends, as powerful as them, roaming around the galaxy right now!" He finished eagerly. Chard did not reply. "You only brought one useful one; I asked for four," he said accusingly. The otters face fell. "What? There is four of 'em here!" He pleaded desperately. "The dark girl is the only one who will work," Chard insisted. Instantly, my friends formed a make-shift barrier of protection around me. "Obviously, I won't be able to get her either," Chard said with a sigh. "Come on men, we're leaving. Freeze this place." The three pirate otters dashed out of the room behind their captain, locking both doors from the outside and turning on some kind of machine with a remote before leaving.

"Let's turn off the freezing machine!" Lassi exclaimed. Mokka went over to the machine, typed in some things, and got a failure sound. He tried again, and got the same sound. He tried one more time, and failed. Then, he started smacking it. Finally, he rammed into it, and a little blue device came flying out. I ran over and scooped the little thing up and inspected it. "Looks like….a mystic mouse!" I exclaimed. "We should keep it," Mokka suggested. I nodded in agreement. Just then, the whole machine started shaking. "Oops," Mokka muttered. "What did you do?" Lassi demanded. "Well, it's purging massive jets of ice, so, I think I… broke it?" He said in puzzlement. "Eeep!" Lassi shrieked. I started running towards the machine, hoping to be able to turn it off, but some ice came flying towards me and in an instant, I was knocked out.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

I heard a voice shouting from far away. "Hang on kids!" I felt someone lift me over their shoulder, and before I knew it, I was back in town. I fully came to myself with a start. "Where am I?" I demanded to know. "Relax, you're back in Port Pescato," Mokka replied. "How did I get back? Last thing I remember was trying to destroy the freezing machine…" I trailed off, and felt my heart drop to my feet. "The freezing machine! Is it still winter?" I demanded, struggling to stand. "Easy, Princess," I heard Eric say gently as he forced me to stay sitting. "You've been out of it for quite a while," he explained. I looked at him in anguish. He seemed to read my mind. "Yes, the freezing machine was destroyed, the winter is over, the dwarves fixed our rocket, and you were only out for a day," he stated as if he knew what all my questions were and he knew he had answered them all. I sighed in relief. "Well, let's get going!" Lassi exclaimed from the doorway. "Are you insane? We can't go now, with Nadia in this condition!" Mokka snapped. "Oh, and you just automatically know what's right for MY best friend!" Lassi snapped back. "Stop it, both of you!" Eric interrupted. "If Nadia feels up to it, we WILL leave now, understood?" Eric ordered. Mokka grumbled something under his breath, and Lassi nodded in agreement with Eric. "I'm ready now!" I announced. Lassi beamed. "Great! Let's head to Puffoon!" she declared. "Why Puffoon?" Eric asked as we all walked to our rocket. "That's where our teacher went, and I'd be willing to bet our other friends made it there!" Lassi stated excitedly. "I think we should head to Gren," Mokka decided. "Have you completely lost it? Why Gren? Miss Madeleine didn't go there!" Lassi exclaimed in exasperation. "We are going to Puffoon, end of discussion," I announced. "But, Nadia-" Mokka started to protest. I turned and glared at him, and he shut up as we boarded our rocket. "The dwarves said that we can fly to any planet except Razen, oh, and our rocket has a name. It's called Neumann," Eric informed me. I nodded. "To Puffoon!" I declared and set a course for the wind planet. Our rocket blasted off, and we were gone, flying through space.


	4. Puffoon

Another chapter! This one is my favorite, that's why it's so long! Yay! Chai! Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starisgn, Brownie Brown does. Credit is given where credit is due.

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 3: PUFFOON<p>

"Look, the wind planet!" Lassi shouted. I felt the landing gear initiate as we touched down and descended to the bottom of the launch bay. "Finally! This will all be over soon!" I declared as we all stepped off the rocket. Lassi looked around, and her eyes fell on something that caught her attention. "Huh? Isn't that a rocket from school?" she asked, walking over to it. We followed her. "Why, yes it is, Lassi!" I exclaimed in shock. Mokka looked around. "I don't see any of our friends," he said. I shrugged, then started walking out of the launch bay. Everyone followed me as I walked down the passage. At that moment, a sneaky looking felin jumped in front of me. "Hey, hey, you girlie, look like you might appreciate what I have to offer. I have found a very rare item! In fact, it is…a magic casting salamander!" the strange merchant shout-whispered to me. I gasped. There's only one salamander magician in all of Baklava. Chai, my best friend. I felt rage coiling deep within. "Where is he? Where is Chai?" I demanded to know. "Uh, who?" he asked in puzzlement. "The salamander you're trying to sell on the black market! His name is Chai, and he's my best friend. Now, I'll ask you again. Where is he?" I hissed in rage.

I felt darkness coiling around me. My element was responding to my anger. "Ack! Dark magician!" the felin exclaimed. He turned and ran, right into a space police officer. "Ah-ha! Caught you at last! You've been a thorn in our sides for too long, with your sneaky dealings in the black market. You're coming with me!" the police trooper then flew off with the evil man holding Chai prisoner. Lassi, Mokka, and Eric looked at me. "Well, we might as well go report Miss Madeleine's kidnapping," Mokka ventured. I nodded sadly, I was bummed I hadn't found Chai. We walked into the city and entered Space Police HQ. An officer stepped in front of us. "Please go to reception and then move to the indicated departments," he told us. So, we began to navigate through the obstacle course of paper work.

~PUFFOON~PUFFOON~

We finally reached the chief's office in hopes of getting help. But our hopes were dashed when the secretary said: "The chief is away on business right now. If you're really desperate, you can talk to his buffoon of a stand in, Lt. Mugwort, when he comes back from the bathroom." I turned to everyone. "Looks like we'll have to wait," I said dejectedly. "I'll be right back," Eric spoke. "Where are you going?" Lassi asked. "Uh, bathroom," Eric replied with a shrug. The three of us sat in silence while we awaited Eric's return. Then, Eric suddenly was back. "Quick, grab some toilet paper!" Eric ordered. I looked up. "Huh?" I asked, puzzled. "I'll get it," Lassi offered. She ran out of the room. A moment later, she came back and handed it to Eric. "Thanks!" he said before running off again. We stood there, dumbfounded.

A moment later, Lt. Mugwort and Eric came in, with Mugwort repeatedly thanking Eric for getting him some toilet paper. He gestured for us to follow him, and we all walked into the chief's office. We quickly explained that our teacher was missing and we needed help. But all he said was he couldn't bravely storm their hideout, and that he would file the report for us. We turned away, and had a serious discussion as we left the building. "The Space Police are inefficient!" I declared. "If they won't do anything, we'll go save Miss Madeleine ourselves!" Lassi added. "I'm just glad we got through that crazy obstacle course," Mokka said as we walked out of the building. At that point, a mystery cat jumped in front of us. Not again, not another merchant, I thought. But the mystery cat surprised us. "Hey, do you kids go to Will-o'-Wisp Academy?" she asked. "Yes," I said slowly, suddenly suspicious. "I knew it!" the cat exclaimed. "Will you help me? It's difficult to explain, so follow me and I'll show you!" the cat declared before running to the east side of town. I looked at my friends who shrugged and gestured for me to follow her. I shrugged and took off after her. I heard my friends racing after me. I ran up, panting, and skidded to a halt in front of an old lab. "This is, uh, my house," the cat said uncertainly. "I've lost a very valuable book, and if you can help me find it, I'll make it worth your while. So, will you help me?" I looked at my friends. Lassi nodded, Eric shrugged, as if to say 'I don't care,' and Mokka shook his head no. I turned back to the mystery cat. "We'll help!" I declared. "Great! Thank you! Oh, by the way, my name's Parfait," she said. "I'm Nadia, this is Lassi, Eric, and Mokka," I said, gesturing to each of my friends. "Nice to meet you. Ok, let's look," she said, leading the way in.

We entered and began our search. I found 3 sugarstars in a corner, and I grabbed them. I glanced around, hoping no one had seen. I walked over to Parfait, and asked her which book she was looking for. "Oh, I'm looking for the Book of the Darned. If you find it, you can take anything you want!" she told me. I nodded seriously. My friends and I spread out and began to search. I wandered over to the far side of the lab and found an old book. The cover said: The Book of the Darned: Death and Rebirth of a Sun. This book looks fascinating, I thought to myself. I thought for a moment more. Could this book possibly show me why my dreams attacked me, or even how to stop them? "It's worth a try," I whispered to myself. I slowly opened the book. I got to the first word, which is 'to' before someone screamed: "STOP!" I jerked my head up as Parfait dashed over to me and snatched the book out of my hand. "You can't read this book! It's cursed! If you even read one line, you could die!" she said frantically. "But-" I started to protest. Parfait ignored me. "Go ahead and take anything you want! Anything at all!" she told us before running off. We stood there in puzzlement, before a siren sounded. "What was that?" Lassi asked fearfully. "I don't know, but it sounded like it came from in here! Let's get out of here!" I said hurriedly. "What about our reward?" Mokka questioned me. "I've already got it," I informed him.

I ran out of the lab with my friends right behind me, but as we stepped outside, a Space Police Trooper came flying up to us. "Hold it, villains! What were you doing in Master Kale's personal lab?" he questioned us. "I thought this was Parfait's house," Lassi said in confusion. "Huh? Oh, I get it. Looks like you kids got conned. You'll have to come down to the station with me," he told us. At that moment, he got a communication. "What? The salamander escaped? He got away with top secret documents, too? I'll be right there!" he said. He then turned back to us. "Looks like I'll just have to let you kids off with a warning. Oh, and here, but don't tell anyone about this!" he said before running off, undoubtedly to chase my best friend. I looked at the two bira he had handed to me, and quickly put it in my pocket before turning to my friends. "They aren't the only ones looking for that salamander! Come on, lets go find Chai!" I declared before running off without waiting for my friends.

I came around the corner and spotted a salamander slowly backing up towards me. "No, they've actually found me," Chai whimpered. "Chai!" I shouted. He jumped back and spun around to face me. "Nadia!" he exclaimed happily. He ran forward and hugged me. I ended up looking up at him. He'd grown since I last saw him. I hugged him back. "Chai, I'm so happy to see you!" I exclaimed. He smiled. "It's good to see you too, Nadia," he replied. We heard shouting behind me. "Nadia, Chai!" Lassi screeched as she rounded the corner. She ran right up to us and hugged us both, as if she hadn't just seen me five seconds ago. "Group hug!" she exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "Lassi!" Chai exclaimed. I saw Mokka and Eric follow Lassi slowly around the corner. "Chai?" Mokka asked, puzzled as to why Chai was here. "Hey Mokka," Chai replied, not at all surprised to see him. He turned back to me. "I was looking all over this planet for you and Lassi, but a felin found out I could use magic and captured me, before trying to sell me on the black market," he explained. "We know, he tried to sell you to us," I informed him. Chai opened his mouth to reply, but shouting stopped him. He spun around and spotted two Space Police troopers rushing towards us. He looked at us sadly, looked back at the troopers, and then took off south. The troopers ran past, shouting: "If you don't stop running, we'll shoot!" I gasped. "Leave my friend alone!" I screamed as I charged after them, with Lassi, Mokka, and Eric right behind me. We chased them to the outskirts of town, but lost them outside the city.

A bunny walked up to us. "Hi, I'm Broiche, are you Chai's friend, Nadia?" he asked me. "Yeah," I replied. "Ok, I've got a message from him. He says he found something incredible, and he wants you to meet in my village." Broiche informed me. "Where's your village?" I asked him. "It's really far south. The town has a really long name, and every time we say the whole thing, it gives you a sugar high, so we just call it Honey Mint," he informed me. "So, see you there!" he called over his shoulder as he dashed off. We took off after him. We ran very far south, before Mokka started beeping like crazy. "Beepblipitybeepboopbeep, danger unstable rocks! Beepblipitybeepboopbeep…sorry, I got a bit carried away." We looked up, and saw a huge rock. "If that rock fell on us, we'd have been killed! Thanks, Mokka!" Lassi exclaimed. We walked on, and practically slammed into Broiche. "Oh, Nadia, the Space Police have blockaded the road to Honey Mint! We can't get past! What should we do?" he asked, panicked. I thought for a moment. I thought of the huge rock, and saw the tank. I thought of how that rock could crush anything in its path and I got an idea. I turned to Mokka. "Mokka, go back to that rock and use your earth magic. If I'm correct, the rock will follow gravity's stronger pull, and roll right across the tank." Mokka looked at me in agony. "What if you're wrong? It could flatten you!" he exclaimed. "I'll chance it, now go," I instructed him. He looked torn, but he obeyed me anyway. We couldn't hear him casting his spell, but we felt the ground start to tremble and saw the rock rolling towards us. I watched intently, and sensed everyone else tense up. I cheered when I saw I had been right, for the rock rolled right past us and destroyed the tank.

Mokka came rushing over, and saw that we were all not flattened. "Come on, I'll take you to my village," Broiche said, leading us even farther south. We followed him until we came to the edge of his village. "Welcome to my village! Follow me to my house, Chai should be there already!" he declared. We followed him into the town and entered a little hut. I saw Chai, and Lassi saw him at the same time I did. "Chai!" we both yelled at the same time. He spun around and grunted in shock or pain as we both flung our arms around him and gave him a hug. "Glad to see you guys too," he said, struggling to speak around our death hug. We released him when we realized we were choking him. Eric came up and put his arm possessively around me. Chai instantly snapped to attention. "And who are you?" Chai asked him rudely.

"Eric, Nadia's boyfriend," Eric introduced himself, reaching out a hand to shake Chai's hand. Chai's eyes had narrowed and gone dark. "How do we know you're not a spy?" he hissed accusingly at Eric. I was shocked at the way they were both acting. "I don't trust you! I can't even stand to be in the same village as you!" Chai snapped before pushing his way out of the hut and then out of the village. Lassi and Mokka went to follow him, but I stopped them. "No, I'll go talk to him," I told them, shrugging off Eric's arm. I quickly followed Chai out of the village. I found him sitting alone, his legs dangling over the edge of the planet; he sat on the opposite side of the brownie. He looked up when I approached and stood up when I stopped in front of him. He walked towards the brownie, but stopped halfway there. He turned towards me. "How long have you been with that guy?" he demanded to know. "I'm not with Eric, we're just friends. I don't know why he said that, or what compelled him to say it," I defended myself. "But you like him, don't you?" Chai accused me. I hesitated. That was all the answer he needed.

"I knew it!" he said angrily. "Chai, I think I know what's going on with you," I said softly. Chai faltered. "Y-you do?" he asked, looking slightly scared. I nodded. "You think that because I like Eric, I'm going to forget about you," I guessed softly. He looked puzzled, then relieved. "Yeah, yeah that's it," he mumbled. "That'll never happen!" I insisted. He looked up hopefully. "I get it, Nadia, thanks, I really…care about you, like a sister," he said, adding the last part quickly. I smiled warmly, "You're like a brother to me, Chai," I told him. He smiled, a little sadly, it looked like. Just then, I head a whirling sound. I spotted a Space Police flying thing, heading straight for Chai. "Watch out!" I shouted, shoving Chai out of the way. I felt myself being lifted off the ground. "Grabbed the wrong one! Dang it!" I heard Brie Pourri snap. Chai scrambled up, and back, just as Lassi, Mokka, and Eric came out of the village. Lassi took in the situation at a surprisingly fast speed and jumped protectively in front of Chai. I screamed as Brie held me over the edge of the planet and started speaking. "I'll let her go without harming her if you'll just give us the salamander," she informed my friends. "And if we don't?" Lassi called out bravely. Brie released me. And I felt myself falling, and screamed in alarm. I heard my friends shouting, and Brie quickly caught me again. I breathed a sigh of relief. "If you don't give me the salamander, I WILL drop your friend off the edge of the planet." Brie threatened.

I felt myself panicking. And suddenly, I was back where I always went when I dreamed a horrible, painful dream. I stood there, and a black haired girl walked up to me. _"Whatever is the matter, Nadia?"_ she asked me. _"I'm being threatened. I'm scared, I don't know what to do, and I know my powers can't save me,"_ I whispered in terror. She brushed me aside, and moved forward. I felt my vision of the real world going away._ "I'll handle this. Don't worry, you'll be safe soon," _she told me. I hope so, I thought to myself. I sat down, brought my knees up to my chin, and rested my head on my knees. I sat there, for what felt like forever. I wonder what she's doing, I thought to myself.

~PUFFOON~PUFFOON~

I opened my eyes. I was being dangled over the side of Puffoon. I concentrated, and managed to see through Nadia's bunny friends eyes. The girl she assumed was Nadia was changing before her very eyes. When Nadia had opened her eyes, they had been forest green. Now, the girl's hair was turning dark brown. I came back to Nadia's body with a start. Nadia's body was adapting to my powers. If it weren't for my powers, the only difference would be the eyes, and no one would have noticed when violet eyes suddenly looked green. I glanced up at the person holding me. Brie Pourri. I had dealt with her before. I looked right at her, and my voice came out of my sister's throat. "Nobody threatens my sister," I hissed, loud enough for her and the bunny girl to hear. Brie froze, and looked down at me. "Valkrie Caine?" she whispered in horror.

I smiled my hunter smile. "The one and only, in the flesh," I whispered. Then, I struck. The darkness coiled, snapping Brie's hands, causing her to drop me. The darkness rushed forward and easily caught me. I turned back to Brie. I brought a wave of dark magic forward and sent it crashing down on her. She groaned, and stood shakily on her feet. I walked right up to her, and lowered my voice so only she could hear. "You will fly away from here, and you will NEVER threaten to drop my little sister off the edge of this planet ever again, understood?" I hissed softly. She gulped and nodded. "Go," I ordered. She didn't hesitate. Brie flew off as fast as she could, and I turned back to my sister's friends. The salamander boy pushed his way forward and looked at my closely. I felt my heart drop. He looks so much like Tai, I thought to myself. The boy brought me back to my thoughts. "Who are you?" he asked me. The corners of my lips twitched, attempting to smile. "I'm not telling," I replied in a sing-song voice. "You're definitely not Nadia," he told me. I remained silent. "Will you bring Nadia back? Please?" he pleaded with me. This time, I smiled sweetly and closed my eyes. I let my sister's hair return to blond, and I lost control of her limbs. Her body fell forward into the boys' arms. I smiled slightly, and whispered to the boy so softly, so only he could hear, before passing out and giving Nadia back her body. "Please, you love my sister, so please, take care of her," I whispered before slipping back into that land of nothing, between bodies.

~PUFFOON~PUFFOON~

"_There you go, Nadia, I took care of everything,"_ the green eyed girl said as she returned. _"Wait, how will I find you if I need you?"_ I called to her as she walked past me. She turned back towards me. _"We will meet, when you know the meaning behind my little rhyme. 'The question asked in order to save her life of take it. The answer yes to avoid death; the answer no would make it. Cassie pulled the trigger, beware Cassie,'"_ she stated before continuing to walk away. I stood up quickly. _"Wait, what does that mean!" _I shouted after her, but she was gone. I reluctantly opened my eyes to the real world and found myself in Chai's arms while he argued with Eric. "It's your fault she was almost killed! I think you need to leave!" Eric was saying to Chai. "No, Chai stays!" I shouted in rage. Everyone looked at me in shock. "Chai, did you take some documents from the Space Police?" I asked, ignoring Eric. "Huh? Oh yeah. These documents list everyone the pirates kidnapped, and I overheard the Space Police saying that they had all been taken to Gren," Chai said as he handed me the documents.

I skimmed through them. Jack O'Chedder, Catherine McNeil, Madeleine Rich…I stopped there. I knew it! Our teacher had been kidnapped! I folded up the document and put it in my pocket. "Ok, we're headed to Gren," I stated, standing and beginning to walk back to the docking bay where our rocket was. Everyone followed. We got there and Chai looked in shock at our giant rocket. "Did you steal this?" he asked in bewilderment. Lassi nodded. We boarded and I set a course for Gren, the wood planet, before going below. Chai came down moments later. "What's wrong, Nadia?" he asked me hesitantly. I shook my head slowly. "No, it's nothing…." I said hesitantly.


	5. Gren

Gren, the wood planet! This was my personal favorite planet in the game. There will be lots of PicoXSorbet in my stories, because I personally really like the pairing. Thanks for review(s). Sorry for the wait! Oh, and I forgot to mention, in the last chapter, I was inspired by the song "Cassie" by Flyleaf. And, the girl is supposed to have dark brown hair, not black. I think I put black in there by mistake. So, anyway, Disclaimer- I do not own Magical Starsign, Brownie Brown does. Credit given where credit is due, and the credit is not for me.

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 4: GREN<p>

Lassi looked down as she stood at the top of the ladder. "Nadia, we're landing on Gren," she stated. I nodded and stood, with Chai right behind me as I led the way up into the main room. An alarm sounded as I joined Mokka at the front. "What now?" I asked, irritated. "We're being attacked by arrows, but don't worry, they won't do much," Mokka assured me. "Wow, those pirates are dumb!" Lassi added. Another alarm sounded and Mokka looked alarmed. "We must land immediately," he stated, and hastily landed the rocket, but the landing was bumpy. Eric looked stepped off the rocket, and then came back in. "I'm going to go scout around; maybe I'll be able to save us some time," he stated, before hurrying away. I sighed and followed Mokka, Lassi, and Chai out of the rocket. We stood looking around for a minute before we heard screaming.

"Help, help!" someone called. "Come on," I shouted to my friends before charging off. We found two felin girls struggling against a giant ugly creature. "Shadow Die!" I shouted and the creature released the other girl as my magic attacked it. "Wind Talon!" Lassi called as she jumped into the battle. "Gravel Pounder!" Mokka shouted as he attacked, but the weird creature had disappeared. "Where is it?" Lassi asked frantically. I shook my head, not knowing. The ground rumbled, and I felt myself thrown into the air. I fell back toward the earth, except I fell into the waiting jaws of the strange creature. I screamed in fury as it chomped on me. "Nadia! Hang on!" I heard Chai shout from far away. Next thing I knew, the creature was spitting me out, and Chai caught me. I glanced over at the creature; it had been subdued by Chai's wood magic. "Thanks, Chai," I panted. "No problem, Nadia, I'd do anything for you," he stated simply with a shrug, as if it was nothing. I turned back to the felin girls.

"Thank you, travelers. This is a Mojo, set loose by the pirates to destroy our village," the girl who had been attacked said to us. The other girl stayed silent as she studied us. She looked at the Mojo, waved her arms around, and the air grew tense. Every particle in the air suddenly felt super-charged with heat, and I had to hold Chai up because he couldn't take the heat. To our amazement, the Mojo blew up and the silent felin girl simply stood there, unaffected. "Miss Farina! You shouldn't do things like that! If you continue such behavior, you'll be taken away," the other girl scolded, but the magic-wielding Farina stayed silent. "Thank you again, travelers, we must go now," she said, before dragging Farina off north. "Whoa, what was that?" I muttered. "I don't know, but let's follow them! Maybe there'll be a village where we can search for Pico and Sorbet," Lassi replied. I nodded and we set off.

~GREN~GREN~

"Hey, whoa, guys, isn't that…Pico?" Chai said as soon as we walked into town. I followed his gaze and felt my jaw drop. "What did that idiot do this time?" Lassi muttered. Pico was tied to a pole in the center of town, and when he spotted us, his whole face lit up. "Hey, Nadia! Lassi, Chai, Mokka! Man, I've been looking for you guys everywhere!" he exclaimed. The felin on guard poked him with a sharp stick. "No talking, prisoner!" Sneaking around behind the guard, Mokka lifted me up onto his shoulders so I could talk to Pico. "I'm glad you guys are safe! The felins grabbed me for no reason. I honestly didn't do anything this time, I promise," Pico whispered."Okay Pico, I believe you. Are you alright, then?" I replied. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. I'll bust out when I catch them off guard, but I'm really worried about Sorbet. I heard the pirates were on this planet and taking magicians prisoner! They probably have her! Don't worry about me; you have to find Sorbet! Promise me you'll look for her," Pico pleaded.

I held up my hands in defeat. "Fine, fine, we'll search for her." Pico looked relieved. "Thanks, Nadia." I moved to get off Mokka's shoulders, but paused. "One more thing, Pico. You really like Sorbet, don't you?" I inquired. Pico nodded, and his eyes dimmed for a moment. "Yeah. I really do." I nodded, and climbed off Mokka's shoulders. A different felin darted up to us. "Hey, I saw you talking to the prisoner. Is he your friend? I'm sure Master Durum would be interested..." "Yeah, that pyromaniac is our friend. Why?" Lassi replied snappily. "Wait here. I'll be right back," the strange felin said, darting into the largest village house and coming back moments later. "Okay, Master Durum will see you. Go on inside." Warily, my friends and I went inside, and saw the two girls from earlier. The one called Farina was studying a little pot intently, while the other girl was talking to the one who must be Durum.

Approaching, I studied the little pot curiously. "Oh. Hi. You're the magicians from earlier. I'm Semolina. You notice something about that pot?" Semolina said. I zoned out, studying the pot as well. An aura of evil floated around it, and I shuddered. It was as if the little plant had a soul, and an evil one at that. Standing up straight, I turned to Semolina. "Miss Farina, these magicians are friends with the boy tied up outside," Semolina explained. Farina studied us, and then rushed off. "Wait! Miss Farina, come back!" Semolina shouted, before rushing after her. Durum spun around, and called after Farina, and then noticed us.

"Oh, right, visitors. Well, welcome to Tropica. Please, you must be tired. Stay at the inn, I'll pay for everything." "Well, sir, if you could just-" "No, I insist," Durum said, waving me off. "Master Durum!" called a felin. "Hm?" The two felins went to the far back room. I glanced nervously at my friends. "We really don't have much of a choice, do we?" Chai whispered. I shook my head. We walked to the inn, and the felin waved us in. "Master Durum already paid. Feel free to take a shower and then sleep as long as you like." I did just that. I felt disgusting after that mojo had chewed me up and spat me out, and was pleased that Chai had been nice enough to clean my clothes while I was in the shower, and undoubtedly Lassi had had to help the salamander boy with that. I ran a brush through my hair and crawled into the bed. Everyone else was asleep already as I drifted off to sleep.

~GREN~GREN~

Three felins came in later that night. I sensed them, even as I slept, but found myself unable to awaken. A fourth felin dashed in and called them back, and all four left. And then I saw nothing again.

~GREN~GREN~

The next morning, I opened my eyes and saw Lassi attempting to wake me up. "Come on, Nadia, something happened outside!" Lassi said, dragging me off the bed. "Okay, I'm up, I'm up," I grumbled. We rushed outside, and were shocked to see that Pico was gone. Master Durum spotted us, and stormed over, demanding, "You freed your magician friend, didn't you?" "No! Master Durum, I saw who did it! It wasn't them!" a female felin shouted. "Hmph!" was Durum's reply. "I also don't understand how you could just hand over outsiders to the pirates like that, though. You lie to them! We still have magicians in this village and you hand over outsiders without a second thought! Your own daughter can use magic, and she's the one who set the prisoner free!" the girl continued.

Durum looked like he was about to say something, but screaming interrupted. A felin ran into town. "There's a mojo coming this way; an angry one!" he exclaimed. "Yah!" came another sout, and a second felin was thrown into the first one, knocking them both out. While some felins hauled the two away to safety, I stepped up to the mojo. "Rematch time, you ugly thing," I spat. "Yeah!" Chai added as he joined me, along with Lassi and Mokka.

The mojo cast the spell Hailstorm, and it hit Chai full on. "Wind Talon!" Lassi shouted. The mojo turned its cold eyes on Lassi. I saw it was going to attack the same way it attacked me the other day. "Shadow Die!" I joined in the battle. The mojo glared at me and then looked toward Mokka as he yelled, "Gravel Pounder!" "Pepperthorn!" Chai added. The mojo looked confused. "Shadow Die!" I shouted again, stretching the strength of the spell, and the mojo retreated slightly. "It's a cursed mojo! It'll keep coming back from the dead!" a felin shouted. "Then we'll keep fighting it," I snapped, determined. Suddenly, that familiar sense in the air, the tension, the feeling of extreme heat surrounded us again, and Chai almost fainted, but Lassi held him up. The mojo was destroyed, and Farina and Semolina calmly walked into the village.

"So, you were lying to us, Durum. Your daughter can use magic. You need to leave. Wander the forest, until you do what needs to be done," a felin said, pushing Durum, Semolina, and Farina out of the village. Turning back to us, the felin said, "Sorry about all the trouble. Feel free to come and go as you please, but we can defend the village ourselves." We nodded and left.

~GREN~GREN~

Traveling north for a long time, we reached a salamander, standing and staring at some totem poles. "Hey! SLURP! You're a magician, right?" the salamander asked me. I nodded. "Yes, we all are," I said, gesturing to my friends. The salamander studied my friends, and looked intently at Chai. "You're a salamander SLURP magician? You must be some kind of SLURP freak of nature!" Chai glared intently at the other salamander. "Look, anyway, SLURP, I need you to destroy those SLURP things so I won't be late for a date for my girlfriend." "Why should we help you?" Chai retorted. "Oh, come on Chai, let's just help him," I stated. "Fine," Chai muttered.

The four of us cautiously approached, and a part of the totem jumped off and landed on Mokka. "Whoa! That's crazy!" Lassi shouted. "Pepperthorn!" Chai shouted, casting his spell. The magic did nothing. "Wha-? Gah!" Chai shouted as another totem landed on him. Another totem jumped towards me, but I dodged aside as fast as I could. "So...magic doesn't affect them...kicking might work," I said thoughtfully, before kicking the totem. That did much more damage than the magic, as a part of the totem was knocked clean off. We continued with kicks, tail swipes for Chai, and tackles from Mokka. Finally, we defeated the totem bombs, and the salamander darted past without even saying thanks.

"Rude much," Lassi commented. "Follow him!" I ordered. We went into Salamander Cave, and were shocked to find Semolina, Farina, and Durum. Semolina was the one who noticed us. "Oh! Hello again! We just got here ourselves. It sure is hard getting so far North! Perhaps you should go to bed early," she suggested, and then turned away, leaving no room for argument.

~GREN~GREN~

We awoke the next morning, and Farina was gone. We went over to talk to Durum, and Mokka noticed something about Semolina. "Does she look different to anyone else?" he asked. Durum stopped mid-sentence and snapped at us, telling us to leave. "What's his problem?" Lassi muttered as we went to the other ladder leading out of the cave and into the bright sunlight. We walked for a ways, and came to the front gate of the city Assam. The gatekeeper locked the door, and looked around. Clearly we wouldn't be getting around that chubby gatekeeper.

We traveled for a while, and came to a large clearing over a cliff. Three pirates came in on their ship and attacked. One moved to attack me, but I dodged. Another one managed to hit me as I moved back, and I was shocked to hear someone yelling at the otters in an angry voice. "Don't hurt her!" Chai shouted. Power pulsed through the air, and suddenly, Chai attacked. "Briar Patch!" The spell hit one otter hard, and that otter passed out. A second otter was destroyed by Lassi's powerful winds, and the final otter lost to Mokka.

At least twenty more pirate otters jumped off the ship and landed in front of us when we turned back around. "We can't fight them all!" Chai exclaimed. I marched forward. "We can try!" I declared. "Nadia, wait, let me try something!" Lassi said, stepping in front of me. "Hear me wind, hear my call! Dancing in the sky... Shaping the clouds... Whispering to the heavens... Hear my plea, and send your gale!" The wind came, it's power incredible, and the otters were picked up and thrown repeatedly against their own ship, destroying it. "I rock!" Lassi cheered. I smirked as Mokka encouraged her cheerfulness and started walking, with the othe three quickly following.

~GREN~GREN~

An impatient Pico had rushed in ahead of us, and when we walked in, we saw Sorbet. As we continued watching, she defeated three pirate otters, but a fourth one snuck past her defenses, and knocked her to the ground. Yelling his fury, Pico came charging at the otter and tackled him to the ground, giving him a good punch before standing and walking over to Sorbet. "Are you alright, Sorbet?" he asked, helping her up. "Yeah. Thanks, Pico. You take care of things here, I'll go deal with the others." She started to rush off, before stopping for a moment and looking back at Pico and smiling. "And, I'm really glad you're okay, Pico." As she ran off, Pico had such a love-struck look on his face, he didn't even notice when the otter got back on his feet and hit him.

Furious, Pico engaged in battle, and we decided to let him have this fight. We snuck to the other side of the city and walked until we saw a pirate ship, Farina, a pirate captain, and Sorbet. "Urgh! It'ss all falling apart! First that pesky dark boy, now a bunch of other hooligans!" the captain shouted. Pico soon joined us, but I didn't notice. "What did you do to Eric?" I demanded. "My pet made quick work of him. That's one less pest in the universe." All I saw was the fury of my powers. "You...you...I WILL KILL YOU!" I screamed, rushing forwards.

Pico, Chai, Lassi, and Mokka moved to stop me, but nothing could knock me down now. It was dark out, and I had the fury I needed to fuel my power times ten. Sorbet stepped across my path. "Wait. Nadia, I don't know what the dark boy was to you, but you need to lead our friends. Keep them safe; it's what you're good at," she said, seriously. I hesitated before reluctantly nodding. I returned to my friends as Sorbet went forward to deal with the pirates. A whistle rang out. The ground rumbled. Something heavy was approaching. I spun around, and was greeted by the ugliest fish-thing ever to adapt to life out of water. "Let's go, Nadia," Pico said. I nodded. "Right! This is for Eric," I declared. The five of us engaged in battle.

~GREN~GREN~

It was a hard battle, and soon, Chai and Lassi were knocked out. I watched with dismay as Mokka followed, leaving only Pico and I to fight. I had lost a lot of health, and I was tired as I fell to my knees. Pico attacked with Afterburner, but fire does little damage to water. Another attack, and Pico was knocked out.

That did it. Something inside me snapped.

Power built inside me, rushing, roaring, stating its desire for blood. For health.

For vengence.

Screaming at the top of my lungs, I screamed out, "BLOOD MONEY!" The power erupted out of me, spiraling upward, colliding against each other and spliting in three, before all three descended on the ugly fish, hitting it, stealing health, and bringing it back to me, healing me. The fish couldn't take it, and died. I rushed forward to help Sorbet instantly, but need not have worried. She had the situation mostly under control. I went to my friends, helping each one up. When I turned back around, Sorbet was jumping into the pirate ship after them, even as Pico screamed and begged her to stop. The ship left Gren, and we could only watch with horror. "Nadia, they said they were heading to Razen. How will we get there? Our rocket can't take the heat," Lassi whispered. I shook my head, unsure. I reached for Pico's arm, and the five of us headed back to Tropica.

~GREN~GREN~

Later that night, I found myself unable to sleep. We had to save Sorbet! "Nadia, are you awake?" Pico whispered. "Yes Pico," I whispered back. "I-I need to get to Razen, to save Sorbet," he replied. "Pico, don't take off all lone-wolf. The team needs you. Don't worry, I have a plan. We'll get to Sorbet," I responded. I really didn't have much of a plan; all I had thought of so far was to head to Cassia and hope the dwarves could get our rocket to Razen. "If you really have a plan..." "I have a plan!" I insisted. "...Alright, I'll stay," Pico replied. There was the sound of him beating the pillow to get comfortable, and then the sound of his snores filled the room as he drifted off. I stared worriedly up at the ceiling. Closing my eyes, I tried to get to the girl with brown hair and green eyes again, but all that met me in that place was the monsters.

~GREN~GREN~

I snapped my eyes open, panting, and sat bolt upright in bed. Weak dawn light filtered into the inn at the Tropica village. Rubbing at my head, I stumbled out of bed, still in my p.j.'s, and went outside. The light chased away the remainder of the monsters in my dreams, but when I closed my eyes, I could still feel it. The heart-racing fear, the mutated monsters chasing me, the innocent people screaming my name, and the name of my mother and father. Father...what was his name again? I didn't remember anything about him. I shook my head to clear it as I heard someone else come outside. Looking up, I saw Chai and Lassi. Lassi was rubbing her eyes and yawning, while Chai was looking concerned. "Nadia, you usually aren't up this early. Is something wrong?" he asked. I smiled weakly. "Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Did you both sleep well?" I asked.

They both nodded. This time my smile was real. "Great! Let's get ready, get the other two, and head out," I said with forced cheerfulness. They looked at each other uncertainly before following my lead.

~GREN~GREN~

"This is our rocket, Neumann. Come on, Pico, stop staring. Let's get to Cassia and ask the dwarves to help us get to Razen," I said. We entered our rocket, I sat the course for Cassia, and off went the rocket as the five of us settled down comfortably to get ready for the journey.

* * *

><p>*sighs* Finally! That was a lot in one chapter! I personally think this was some of my best work! Review please; it inspires me to post!<p> 


	6. Aquarino

Another chapter! This is the second time on Cassia, when they get the Aquarino! So, sorry if you think it's much shorter. hyperpink4- sorry about that! Like I said in the author's note for that other story- the idea wouldn't leave me alone! Sorry again for any confusion! And thanks for all the reviews! On with the story! Disclaimer- Oh yeah...I have to do this first...I don't own Magical Starsign; Brownie Brown does!

* * *

><p>Chapter 6- Back to Cassia!<p>

The water planet finally came into sight. It looked much more lively without all the ice and snow. The rocket landed, and five students stepped out onto the beach. "So, we just ask the dwarves for help, right?" Lassi asked cheerfully, as if they did this everyday. "Wait! THAT'S the big plan? Ask for help?" Pico exclaimed. "Duh," was the response he recieved. He fell silent as I approached the dwarf on the beach. "Hey there, Nadia! What seems to be the problem?" he asked. "Well, I was wondering if you could help us get to Razen," I said. "Well, o'course I can! You just got 'ta run into town and get me this little thing called the Aquarino! No big deal, right?" "Yeah, sure, we can do that!" Pico jumped in eagerly.

Before anyone could say anything else, he ran off. I face-palmed. "We should probably go after him," Chai said. I nodded. We then proceeded to follow our hot-headed friend, who couldn't seem to hold still to save his life.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

Upon arriving, we found our way blocked by none other than the Space Police. "Let us in!" Pico demanded. "Don't make him angry, or he'll throw a temper tantrum. I don't think anyone wants that," Mokka advised. The trooper looked indignant and was about to say something when the one who must be his superior came over. "What is this?" the new arrival demanded. "Just a bunch of kids demanding to be let in, sir!" the first one replied.

"Hey, let them in! They're the ones who saved this town," someone called out. With a feeling of relief, I saw Detective Beignet rushing towards us. The three started argueing amongst themselves and when a conclusion was reached, the other two stormed off in a huff as Detective Beignet turned back to us. "Thanks, Detective," I said. "No problem, Nadia. But...can I ask you a favor? I need you to check Nata De Coco Door for me. I think there's pirates over there." "Sure. We can totally take care of that. Isn't the Aquarino over there?" Lassi said.

"Yeah, I heard a rumor about that. Okay, I'll distract the others, you go and check the place out!"

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

Silently, we snuck down the path and the sound of chopping reached us. I could hear the pirates complaining about the seaweed and as we rounded the corner, we saw three pirate otters equiped with swords which they were using to repeatedly slash at the seaweed. "What are you doing to that poor plant?" Chai demanded. Pico tried to silence him, but it was too late. The otters turned towards us. "Haha! I knew you would come! Master Kale was right!" Instantly, I recognized that voice and snapped my head up.

"Chard," I said, my voice dangerously low. "Hello again, Nadia. Are you ready for defeat?" Before I could reply, he jumped down from the cliff and landed nimbly in front of us. The three otters joined him. "Mokka, Chai, focus on the otters. Lassi, heal. Pico, help me with Chard," I ordered. They nodded in agreement, and so began our second battle with Chard.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

Of course, Chard was full of himself and let his guard slip up. Instantly, Pico and I attacked. "Afterburner!" "Shadow Die!" Chard was unable to dodge both, and ended up getting hit by both. While we were dealing with Chard, the pirate otters had ganged up on Mokka, because he was a threat to them. Chai was desperatly trying to draw their attention, bu to no avail. When Lassi saw Mokka go down, I sensed something inside of her snap. "Falcon Dive!" she cried.

The winds rushed passed, spiraling upwards before diving down towards all our enemies in the form of hundreds of birds. Stunned, the otters retreated from battle, but Chard stubbornly remained. "All together now!" I shouted. "Afterburner!" "Pepperthorn!" "Falcon Dive!" "Blood Money!" In unison, our spells hit, leaving Chard no room to retaliate and forcing him to retreat.

"I despise you," he panted, dropping to a knee. Lassi was in the process of waking up Mokka as I turned around at the approaching of the Space Police. "Master Chard?" I heard one gasp. I narrowed my eyes and glared at the one I thought had spoken while Detective Beignet also looked puzzled. "Take him away," another one said, and the troopers instantly rushed forward and carted Chard away. I let the moment slide as I turned to the seaweed.

"Chai, we have to destroy it," I told him. He sighed. "I know Nadia, just...don't make me watch." Chai turned away and I nodded to Pico. "Fire burning in my belly! Fire blazing in the stars! Roiling, boiling, churning, burning, cover us and clense the world!" The fire burned in the air, hot. Not nearly as hot as Farina's spell, but still heated. The seaweed was burned away and Pico cheered. "Oh yeah! That stuff burns great!" Chai glared at him.

"Okay, stop it, both of you. Come on," I ordered. We entered, and saw yet another obstacle in our path. "Oh joy," I muttered. "What are we going to do about that rock?" Lassi fretted. "Mokka, can't your magic move that?" Pico asked. "No. That is insane. My magic would be as effective as Lassi blowing on the rock," Mokka said, deadpan. "Are you insulting my magic?" Lassi asked, her voice rising. "No. I am stating the facts," Mokka replied. "Guys, stop it!" I shouted.

"Little leaf, green leaf, gather light to you! Little root, deep root, bind the earth to you! Mind the trunk that holds you high! Mind the branches, long and proud! So strong stands the forest!" We spun around when we heard Chai's voice. He stood just in front of the giant rock and seemed to be in some kind of trance. A loud CRACK! echoed through the cavern as a sapling grew into a large tree and split the rock in half. Chai wobbled and almost fell, but stopped himself and put a hand to his head.

"What happened?" he asked innocently as we all stared at him in shock. "Wow," Pico said. I rolled my eyes and walked forward into the next room. Lassi darted after me. We found ourselves in a fancy room, full of lavish things. "Do they like worship the Aquarino or something?" Lassi asked. I shrugged as I walked forward and snatched the vial.

"Let's get out of here," Pico said when we returned. "Agreed." However, before we could leave, we were stopped by six otters from the village. "You can't take that!" one said. "We need that," another added. "It belongs here," a third said. "We can't get to Razen without this, though," Lassi protested. Pico nodded. "Yeah, we have to save Sorbet and our teacher from the pirates." "Yo guys are crazy! Fighting the pirates again?" the first one asked. "Either way, you'll have to figure something else out because we can't let you have it," a fourth one said. "You're so selfish!" a girl shouted as she stormed in. "You can let them have that, because they need to stop the pirates and save their friends. This is our problem too, because, in case you've forgotten, the pirate problem started here!" The other six were silent and the girl sighed and stormed off.

"You know, she's right," the fifth one said softly. There was a pause as the others thought it through. "Yeah. Alright. You kids, show them how it's done!" "We're all counting on you!" "Good luck!" The six otters left, giving us their blessing. We grinned and took off for the shore.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

"Hey kids, you got the Aquarino?" the dwarf asked. "Yeah!" I said cheerfully. "Alright! We'll get you all set up to get to Razen!"

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

"Thanks!" I shouted to the four dwarves as they headed back to town. "Nadia! Come on! We're setting the coordinates!" Pico shouted. I dashed back inside, and the rocket lifted off, heading for Razen, the fire planet, and the one closest to the sun.

* * *

><p>There's that chapter! What do you think? Review please!<p> 


	7. Razen

Another chapter! This is Razen, one of the longest planets I've come to! This will most likely be split into two parts. I'm terribly sorry for the wait! Disclaimer- I still don't own Magical Starsign!

* * *

><p>Chapter 7- Razen<p>

"I don't like this place," Lassi announced as soon as we stepped off the rocket. I rolled my eyes. "Lassi, you are such a whimp!" Pico snapped, already studying the landscape as though he would find a clue of Sorbet's whereabouts. "Let's just find a town and see if they know anything," Chai stepped in. "Fine," Pico grumbled. "I detect hostile life-forms. Please be careful," Mokka cautioned. Lassi was instantly upset, but I ignored her as I felt a familiar feeling come over me.

I lost all my memories, but I am far from ignorant. This presence, it has strong dark magic...very strong. That was perhaps the scariest part. We rounded the corner, and there they were; the source of the strong magic. Two creatures with hollow, empty eyes that seemed to stare into your soul and slowly steal it from you. I shuddered and they darted past us suddenly, disappearing as if they'd never been there.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

The barrier guarding the town of Potfolk had let us pass without much difficulty, and, looking around, I knew this place was in for trouble. Maybe it was the fact that I'd seen those creatures staring at the town with those soulless eyes, or just the fact that so much trouble had been strirring thoutghout the galaxy, but I knew, without a doubt, that trouble was on the way.

The fact was only confirmed a few moments later after we exited the home of the barriersmith, Celadon, and we heard a commotion. Turning around, we saw Sorbet step out of the pot-shaped home, holding the barriersmith. I felt like my blood had gone cold. "Sorbet!" Pico was delighted to see her, while Lassi looked nervous. The water magician ignored us and shoved us down. "Stay away! It's for your own good!" I stood up, unlimited fury pounding through me. "She's so asking for trouble!" Lassi shouted as she stood up.

Back at the school, Lassi was usually the one who would knock our water magician friend down a peg. "Help! Fellow pots, assistance required!" A very old, brittle-looking pot had entered, and we stood off to the side, listening. "Celadon must be brought back! He held the glaze for our Starfall Festival!" The other pots were shocked by this news, and I stepped forward. "Sir, I promise you, I'll bring back Celadon," I said instinctively. The pot looked relieved. "Thank you." I gestured to my friends, and we headed out.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

We followed the clues; it was rather simple to follow the path Sorbet had so obviously taken. However, I became more hesitant the closer we came to the "World Seam" because I was sensing that power again. I really shouldn't have been scared, but instinct insisted that dark masters didn't get along. One master either feared the other, or strongly wished to destroy the other; most of the time, dark magicians ended up at each other's throats, unless they were related by blood.

When we saw the entrance to a cave, we also saw the two creatures from earlier standing guard. I didn't want to go one step closer, but I had no choice; I couldn't let my friends face the creatures alone. So I gathered my courage and walked forward. The creatures snarled and sneered evilly when we came near. "Little bugs, wanting to play," one sing-songed. "Little, little dark magician, come to challenge us," the other said. "We can't let you pass. Die now, die!" the first one added.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

Naturally, we fought our hardest. After all, we didn't want to die. However, dark creatures with magic are hard to beat. Seeing Lassi and Chai drop, something inside of me...snapped. I screamed my fury and my fear turned to the desire to...kill!

kill, kill, kill, kill, Kill, Kill, KIll, KILL, KILL!

The thought rushed through my head, roaring in my veins and blood, comsuming me until all I had was that sick and twisted intent to kill. Screaming my fury, all I knew was the creatures were dead, the battle was over, and there was blood on my hands. I looked at my hands in horror, and I dared to look at my friends, still shocked by what I had done. For once, I was thankful they had all been knocked out; they didn't see what had happened. Quickly, I cleaned up the mess, woke my friends, and we took off through the caves.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

The deeper we went into the caves, the stronger the fearful force became. I really wanted to turn back, but I knew I couldn't; we had to save Sorbet and Miss Madeliene. Upon seeing the door in front of us, locked securely, we stopped. Dismay filled me, even as Pico drew my attention to the jumping barrel. Wait...jumping? I poked at it, and a man slithered out. I stepped back, shocked. "Do forgive me. You have dark magic, so I thought you were an enigma at first. I am Rogan Josh. Do you seek to free the magicians?" Rogan Josh asked.

"Yes," Chai said from behind me. "Very well. I will open the door. Please wait a few moments." We followed Rogan Josh over to the door, and looked in shock and horror as he slipped right through the door. A few seconds later, the door slid open. "Make haste, my friends. We must not dally here; it is too dangerous," he stated before kind of floating away. We had little to no choice except to follow. Walking past the cages, we saw countless magicians trapped, but Mokka recognized one.

"Farina!" he called, going to the bars of one cage. We joined him as Farina met us on the other side. "Hey! I remember you! You've got to help me! The pirates left me here for dead when they found out I couldn't use magic," she explained. "What? I thought you could use magic!" Lassi exclaimed. "Oh, wait, never mind. Forget I said anything." With that, she turned away and refused to talk to us.

"Let's keep going," I muttered, walking away. My friends followed, and I stopped when I heard someone call my name. "Detective?" I asked as I stepped over to another cage. "Yeah. Hey, can you get me out of here?" the detective replied. "She cannot. The key is in possesion of Gil Mudflap." I spun around and saw Rogan Josh behind us, doing his weird floating thing, just hovering there. "Come Nadia, if you find Mudflap, you can retrieve the key and rescue these poor souls." And with that said, Rogan Josh floated away, and, with a last farwell to the detective, we followed.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

Somehow, we lost Rogan Josh. Wandering for a while, we came upon a giant door. Embedded in the black door was the symbol of darkness, and Sorbet stood just in front of the door, holding Celadon. She seemed to be chanting. Then there was a flash of light, and another flash, and then Sorbet was gone, even as six Space Police officers entered. "Get rid of them!" one said, and we engaged in battle. Honestly, they were weak, and I stifled a yawn. "Shadow Die!" Down went one. From the back row, Lassi called, "Wind Talon!" Two more found themselves in intense pain and feeling dizzy.

"Afterburner!" At Pico's shout, another one went down. "Pepperthorn!" There went a third. The other three fell in a similar fashion, and as they retreated from battle, they eyed us warily. "That was...unexpected." An overpowering aroma filled the air. "No! Gil Mudflap is here!" one wailed. The six tried to run, even as the stench became stronger. They all promptly passed out as a disgusting...**_BLOB _**entered the room. "Nobody gets in Master Kale's way," the blob said, and attacked.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

Needless to say, the guy was tough to beat. When we finally hit him hard enough to make him retreat from battle, his lackies simply fled the room. "You'll regret that," the blob threatened, before stumbling away, dropping a key on the ground. Rogan Josh came in and scooped up the key. Just as I was about to start yelling at him he said, "Great job. I'll go free the others in the cage. Too bad about that pot, though. The Door of Darkness can only be opened by powerful dakr magicians, and all have failed. Kale uses a warp device, or so I've heard. So long, and thanks."

I marched right up to that door, feeling my power thrumming through me. I didn't FEEL that strong, but there was no way I was letting a dumb door stand in my way of saving those in need without trying and just...GIVING UP! No, those words weren't in my vocabulary.

"Dark night! Hear my cry! Lend my your strength! Come again, envelop the world, and darken the sun!" As I finished my spell, I felt the power surge, jump, and flow, reaching out to the door and pulling it apart, forcing gears and hinges long disused to move again. As soon as that door opened, I rushed in, my friends right behind me. In we walked, to be greeted by hundreds of pirate otters and enigmas. Carefully, we stepped past them, not really sticking out, yet careful not to draw attention to ourselves.

We passed them, and I breathed a sigh of relief, yet stilled as I saw Sorbet just ahead of us. Pico saw her, too. "Sorbet, stop!" he yelled, running forward. We raced after him, but wisely skidded to a stop in front of the stone stage. "Sorbet, keep them busy while Master Kale activates his power," Chard commanded from where he stood in the shadows. Sorbet didn't move. Chard stepped forward and shoved her down, making her drop Celadon, and Chai quickly caught the pot, setting him down beside us. "Leave her, Chard. I'm casting the spell now," the hooded figure of Kale spoke for the first time. The ground started to rumble, and I felt my breath catch.

This power building, it was light in power, pulling at our bodies. Celadon jumped among us and created a shield, even as Lassi shouted, "Wait! Where's Miss Madeleine?" But it was too late. They were gone.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

Sorbet stood there, staring at where the villains used to be, silently seething as we approached her. "I was so close! Why did you show up?" Sorbet snarled at us. "Yeah you were close! Close to getting us killed!" Pico snapped. "I had everything under control," Sorbet said coldly. "You didn't! You didn't even think your plan through!" Pico shouted. "Shut up, hot-head! This is all your fault!" I couldn't take it anymore. I stepped right in front of Sorbet and slapped her across the face. Hard.

She recoiled in shock and stared at me, even as Lassi started ranting. "You can't do things all by yourself, Sorbet! We're your friends, and when you throw yourself in danger, we get hurt more than you!" Lassi shouted. Just then, Detective Beignet arrived with Rogan Josh. "Are you all okay?" Rogan Josh asked. "Isn't she the one who...?" the detective trailed off, staring at Sorbet. "Nah, she's one of us. She was just playing bad guy, right?" Pico said. "Correct," Mokka stated. Chai nodded. Lassi and I said nothing, simply glanced at each other as the others started talking. Eventually, we allowed them to lead us out of that cursed place.

* * *

><p>Look! An update! On time! Sorry again for the wait! Remember, reviews make me write faster!<p> 


	8. Fire Millennium Gummy

Hey look! I'm alive! I'm so sorry for lack of updates; my dad was in the hospital and school finals were kicking my butt and taking up all my time. Please forgive me! Thanks for all the reviews and adding the story to your alert list and favorite list. Here's the second half of Razen and thanks again for waiting for my slow self to update! Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign. This fact makes me sad...

* * *

><p>Chapter 8- Fire Millennium Gummy<p>

"Well, I'm going to be in your group now to help save our teacher. Any objections?" Sorbet asked when we got back to Paella. No one said anything. "Good!" she said cheerfully. "What do we do now, Nadia?" Chai asked. I thought for a moment. Before I could decide anything, Detective Beignet came over. "Oh, Nadia, before I was arrested, the dwarves wanted me to give this to you. They said it would get you into "Macaroon" so you could request help from Grenadine if you wanted to save your teacher. From what I understand, Kale is heading for Nova. Well, good luck Nadia!" I accepted the fake beard the Detective gave me and stared at it like it was the answer to my prayers.

"We'll head to Macaroon," I decided. My friends seemed to think I was crazy, but no one protested as I left the village, giving them no choice except to follow.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

"Please let us in! We have this fake beard that we were told would get us into Macaroon," I pleaded with the guard outside of the town. The dwarf inspected the fake beard and I suddenly got the feeling he was smiling, but it was hard to tell with his beard.

"Well look at that! You could have only gotten one of those if you were friends with a dwarf. Or if you killed one, maybe. But you kids don't look like you'd be capable of that. Go on into town," the dwarf said, stepping aside. We rushed past him, but we stopped when we entered Macaroon. In the center stood a large tower, larger than the ruins we'd seen on Erd. "I bet that's where we need to go to get help," Sorbet said, pointing at the tower. "She's right," Mokka added when I didn't move. I still stood frozen. Memories flashed through my head...

_A large tower...a garden around the lands...a small boy and a small girl, looking exactly the same, sat playing quietly among the roses...a woman called for them...they ran inside the large tower, ignoring the bowing adults dressed in clothes more similar to rags...a man, tall and handsome, telling the girl something...the girl, stealing something important...an explosion..._

"Nadia! Snap out of it! Come on!" I jolted back to the present when I registered Lassi was shaking me. I shook my head to clear it. Such strange thoughts. However, now wasn't the time to think about the past. There was only time for action. "Come on!" I declared, rushing off, my friends right behind me. When we reached the bottom of the tower, a dwarf stood in our way. "You can't go in there. Grenadine is too busy to deal with some kids. Come back when you have something important," the dwarf stated.

My friends and I had mixed emotions abouth that statement. Sure we were kids, but we'd been turning the solar system upside down. And now this dwarf was dismissing us as unimportant, and a waste of time? This made me beyond furious, but I feared that if we started a fight, we'd be thrown out of town. So I said nothing and gestured for my friends to back down and follow me.

I could see they were reluctant to obey, but they did obey, at least, although they grumbled as they did so. "So, what do we do now?" Pico demanded. "I'm thinking!'' I snapped. I really was in a horrible mood. Being dismissed like that made me angry, and I was frustrated that I was only now starting to remember fragments of my past, and on top of all that, trying so hard to remember something that just wasn't there was giving me a headache! So i was feeling inclined to take my frustration out on my friends, and less inclined to think sensibly about our current situation.

"Nadia, some pot-folk just left town. They said something about a cave just outside of town, and I heard rumors of treasure there," Sorbet said, interrupting my irritable thoughts. "We should follow them," Chai suggested. "Treasure's important, right? We can bring that back!" Pico added. I nodded slowly in agreement. "It's worth a try. Let's go."

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

Standing at the entrance of Capscium Cavern, I found it possible that perhaps dragons really had lived there at one point. But they had to be gone now, otherwise they could have easily overran the planet by now. "Cool! Let's go see some dragons!" Pico cheered. I rolled my eyes and desperately wanted to point out what I saw as obvious, but held my tongue. No need to burst his cheerful little bubble now. He would see for himeself soon enough.

We entered the caves and walked around in them, following the natural curves of the tunnels and advice of the occasional dwarf. The dwarves always told us to turn back, forget the pots, save ourselves, don't go too deep into the caves, etc. Even though I could tell Lassi was nervous, we forged on. I personally found the skeletons creepy reminders of the past, and yet at the same time, they were proof that dragons had been in these caves. But what could kill them all? That was the true question.

When I thought to ask the next dwarf, he said something about Scargot burning them all up. Pico seemed fasinated, Chai seemed scared, Lassi was nervous, but Mokka and Sorbet couldn't seem to care less. Pico wanted to know more, but I said, "Come on Pico. We have to find those pots." Pico looked disappointed, but he obeyed.

Deeper and deeper into tha caves we traveled, searching for something, but we didn't even know what. Then out of nowhere, a Dab Hasnel charged at us, screeching, "I shall destroy you all!" It was heading straight for Chai, and I shoved the salamander away and took the full brunt of its attack. The shadow cube crashed into me and I cried out in pain as it zapped me. I'm not really sure what happened, but after it zapped me, I felt the power of the darkness...in the air...it came to me, and I...absorbed it? That was new. What was happening? Nothing made sense anymore.

When did I lose my mind?

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

Somehow, we defeated the Dab Hasnel. I don't know how; I can't remember. My friends seemed confused, too, well, except for Mokka. Maybe it was because he was a robot. "What's up with this place?" Pico shouted. "Who knows," Sorbet replied with a shrug. "I don't like it here! Can we go back?" Lassi asked. "I feel like we need to keep going," I replied faintly. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I feel my body? Why did I feel so light-headed? What was wrong with this place? Why is everything like this? Where am I? Who am I? Who am I **really**?

I know my name, but why did this place make me question everything I thought I knew for a fact? I started walking, feeling like I was in a trance. Something in this cavern was calling to me, like it knew me, like I knew it, like...like what? What was I thinking? What was I doing? This could all be a trap! But...I couldn't seem to stop. My friends had no choice except to follow me. They couldn't let me go alone. I have such good friends. Why didn't I realize that sooner? Seriously, what was with this place?

What is going on here?

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

Whatever was doing this, it was like a spell, and it got stronger the deeper we went into this cave. "I seriously want to go back!" Lassi insisted. I barely heard her. It was close, whatever it was. Before we could go any farther, a group of Piskpookas and Dab Hasnels ran at us. "You will go no farther," one said. "You will die here," another added. "Master Kale has ordered your destruction," a third finished.

The room shook uncontrollably. The Piskpookas and Dab Hasnels looked very nervous. "Hurry!" one Piskpooka insisted. The room shook again, and I felt the temperature increase. Chai started fanning himself, to no avail. The poor wood magician looked like he was about to faint. "Temperature rising rapidly. Use caution," Mokka warned.

The room shook more, violently this time. The room was practically tinged with red-hot visible heat. The Piskpookas and Dab Hasnels suddenly rushed past us and fled. Just as a large...**thing **made of fire rolled into the room. "RUN!" Pico yelled. I couldn't agree more. We spun around and raced back the way we came. Even Chai was managing to not faint in the face of certain doom. If he faltered now because of his weakness to heat, he would perish, and we all knew that.

"No! They've collapsed the tunnel!" Sorbet shouted angrily as we skidded to a stop in the next portion of the tunnel. "They're trapped here too," Lassi pointed out. "I don't want to die!" Chai insisted. "No one is going to die!" I snapped, clutching my head. There were too many things going on at once. The temperature was rising again, my friends were arguing rather loudly, there was an insistant voice in my head, that lull and pull from whatever was in this cave was still present, and my head was pounding.

A portion of the wall suddenly collapsed, and I had an idea. "Hey! Everyone, shut up and follow me!" I yelled, leading the way to the wall and crawling through the hole, only to come face to...uh...whatever a pot had, with one of the little pots from Macaroon. "What are you doing here?" I demanded, then continued before the pot could reply, "Oh, it doesn't matter. We need to get out of here!" "I need to find some good clay for the Starfall Festival first! Follow me; there's an exit that way, too!" the little pot exclaimed, and then rushed off before I could say anything.

We had little choice except to follow. But we hadn't counted on the little pot being so fast, because we soon lost him. The room shook and I felt the temperature sky-rocket. We instantly started running. "Nadia, that thing is right behind us!" Pico reported. "Don't touch it! That means instant death!" Mokka said. "We kind of figured that out, Mokka," Sorbet snapped. "Let's hide in that little cave!" Lassi suggested. "Lassi, we're in a cave! That's just another tunnel," Sorbet said in exasperation. "It's worth a try. Come on!" I shouted.

We raced into the little room, only to find the room wasn't so little. Inside was a perfectly preserved skeleton of a very large dragon. It was easily the largest skeleton we'd seen, and also the most intact. But the thing that demanded total attention was the fire-symbol shaped gummy sitting in the open mouth of the dragon skeleton. We stopped and stared. Just, stood there and stared at it for a minute.

"It's beautiful," Sorbet said softly. "And loaded with fire magic," Pico added. "It doesn't seem dangerous," Mokka said. I stepped closer to it, and knew this was the thing we'd been looking for; the thing that had been pulling us deeper into the cave. I don't know how, but somehow, I knew. "What is it?" Lassi asked. I knew what it was. Again, I don't know how, but somehow I just...knew. I think Pico did too, but he didn't say anything, so I wouldn't either. I picked up the gummy carefully and put it in my bag.

"What are you going to do with it?" Chai asked curiously. "I don't think we should take it," Lassi said nervously. I didn't bother to reply to either of them. "Oh no! That monster made of fire is coming in!" Sorbet shouted suddenly. And we were trapped. "Quick! That way!" Pico shouted, grabbing Lassi and I and shoving us through one side of the dragon's bones. Sorbet, Mokka, and Chai went through on the other side and we escaped.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

We raced through the back tunnels, trying to get away. That monster thing was still following us and we had to get away. We ran, literally, to the end of the tunnels. We all clustered as close together as possible, staring in shock at the little pot who was happily digging for clay, completely oblivious to the danger. "What are you doing? It's very dangerous here!" Chai shouted. "That thing is coming!" Pico shouted. He was right. I felt the temperature rise drastically, and moments later, the creature came into view.

It couldn't come very close because there was water on either side of a narrow path that led to us, but it was only a matter of time before we cooked just because of the extreme temperatures.

Without warning, Sorbet cast her wild magic spell and the water on either side sprang up and washed around the room. I really hoped I wouldn't drown as the water washed over me. I struggled against it, to no avail. Finally, the water cleared and I landed on the ground, coughing. My friends were in similar posistions.

"What was that?" Pico shouted at Sorbet. "You could have killed us!" Mokka added. "I put it out! Now we're out of danger! You can at least say thanks!" Sorbet snapped. "Enough! This is getting us nowhere!" I yelled. We really didn't have time for this. I stormed off and my friends followed. I saw another tunnel I hadn't noticed before and followed it. When I saw a little pot struggling in a pond of water, I jumped in and fished him out even as my friends arrived.

"You okay?" Pico asked the pot. "Fine thanks. I have to get this clay back to Elder Kettle!" the pot stated before rushing off. He seemed to know where the exit was, so we followed him, eventually right out of the caves.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

We went back to Paella in search of Rogan Josh, only to enter at the peak of a festival while meteors rained down from the skies. "You're just in time for the Starfall Festival! And it's so ironic that there's a meteor shower! Well, enjoy yourselves!" one pot said excitedly. When we approached Elder Kettle and Celadon, they thanked us for our help and invited us to watch the new pots' creation. We agreed, though I felt a little nervous about watching the ceremony.

Though, the ceremony turned out to be fascinating. Stars fell from the sky and gave life to the formerly blank and lifeless pots. There was much cheering and celebrating and I turned to speak to Elder Kettle and Celadon while my friends ran off to have fun.

"Thank you, again, Nadia," Elder Kettle said. "The Starfall Festival wouldn't have been possible without your help, so please take the Comet Book," Celadon added. "Oh, well, thank you," I said hesitantly. "Please, enjoy the festival," Elder Kettle stated. I forced a smile and nodded, and when the two pots turned away, I sighed softly and also turned away and wandered through the town. Just being here, as the only dark magician around, I was thinking of Eric. He should have been with us.

I reached the platform at the edge of town and was shocked to see Mokka already there. I forced myself to stop thinking of depressing things and try to be cheerful for the sake of my friends. Put on a smile and hope none of them saw right through my ploy. "Mokka, what are you doing out here alone?" I asked. "Nadia, I know this journey has been hard on us; all of us. But, I must say it," he began.

I went from pretending I wasn't depressed to downright nervous. How weird could this night get? "It might be strange for me to be telling you this, since I am a robot, but I find I have...fallen in love...with you," he said, meeting my eyes. I heard a gasp behind me and I spun around to find Lassi standing there. "Traitor!" Lassi exclaimed, then ran off crying.

"Lassi, wait! I'm not-! I didn't-! I swear this is just a misunderstanding!" I yelled, racing after her, leaving Mokka standing there in confusion.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

Lassi was sneaky when she wanted to be, I would give her that. I couldn't hunt her down to explain that, no, I did not like her secret crush, and no, I would never be in a relationship with him. But the universe just seemed determined that my best friend stay mad at me because Rogan Josh found me and explained that we must bring the gummy we'd found in the cavern to Grenadine tomorrow morning so we could find a way to follow Kale to "the planet of light".

Whatever that meant. I actually pay attention in class, and not in one class had a planet of light been mentioned. I sighed and decided to get some rest at the inn, considering we'd be getting up early tomorrow. I returned to the inn and the inn-keeper gave me a place to sleep. I collapsed on the bed and instantly fell asleep.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

What was chasing me this time? Not one of the other creatures, no, this one was made of pure darkness, but, unlike the enigmas, they didn't seem to have any free-will, or a mind of their own. They seemed like...golems. Mindless slaves. Well, mindless or not, they were chasing me and they were dangerous, as was proved by the bleeding scratches all over me.

_Return...fulfill your destiny...Princess of the Dark..._

I jolted awake with a gasp, drenched in sweat and blood pouring from my open wounds. The blankets on the bed were in a pile on the floor, and the pillow had somehow ended up across the room. I got up and stumbled outside, gasping for air. Adrenaline pumped through me. What the hell was that dream all about?

I leaned against the wall of the building and slammed my head back to hit the wall. "Damnit," I muttered. I knew it had something to do with my past, I **knew **it, but I couldn't remember a thing! Not a person, not a place, nothing! It was like someone had just somehow...erased them. But that wasn't possible! ...Was it? I sighed and went to wake my friends.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

I couldn't begin to describe how grateful I was to be finally let in to speak to Grenadine. We found him on the second to top floor. "So, you're the kids who went into Capscium Caverns and came out alive with the Fire Millennium Gummy? I hear you want to follow Kale to the light planet. The only way to do that is to gather the rest of the gummies from the other planets. Do you really want to do this?" Already I thought this dwarf was okay. No delaying, straight to the point. "We have to get to the light planet to save our teacher. Where should we start?" I asked without hesitation.

"Cassia."

With that said, Grenadine sent us on our way and he returned to his work.

* * *

><p>OK, finally finished the second half of Razen! Again, I am soooooooo sorry for lack of updates! Please please please forgive me! But it's super long and I will try to have the next chapter up MUCH faster!<p>

Review please!


	9. Water Millennium Gummy

Is this update faster? Shallowheart4-thanks for all the reviews! And don't worry, my dad is doing much better! Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign. This fact makes me sad...

* * *

><p>Chapter 9- Water Millennium Gummy<p>

Upon arriving on Cassia and the town of Port Pescado, we were greeted by Detective Beignet. "Nadia! The Space Police are up to their tricks again! They all swarmed out to Granule Island in search of some "treasure"! I think you should check it out!" he explained. "Thanks, Detective," I replied. He smiled and waved my thanks off in a "don't mention it" fashion.

We set off to search for a boat to take us across the water. Upon arriving at the docks, we saw those two treacherous pirates, Persimmon and Caldarroste. I didn't trust them at all, but they had a boat, and we needed to get across the water. They were our enemies...but if I played this right, my nature as a dark magician could work to our advantage.

I took a deep breath and decided the gamble was worth a try as I strolled over to the two pirates. "Caldarroste," I said, making my voice cold and indifferent. He took one look at me, and I don't know what he saw, but hesitation crossed his otter-features and fear flashed in his eyes before he regained his composure.

"Hey Nadia! I need your help! The Space Police are up to no good and I need your help to get to the other island," the otter explained. I resisted the urge to smirk. And the otter falls into the trap. "Well it just so happens we need to get to the other island as well. Perhaps we can help each other," I offered. Caldarroste nodded eagerly. "Whenever you and your friends are ready, Nadia." "Why wait? We're ready now," I replied haughtily. Caldarroste seemed slightly intimidated by my new attitude, but he nodded anyway. "Let's set sail!" he declared, gesturing proudly to his little ship.

My friends stared at it for a moment before Sorbet said, "Dare I ask how long this will take?" "Perhaps...six hours?" he offered. "What?" Pico roared, only to be ignored as we got on the small ship.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

We finally reached Granule Island after a few close calls where Pico had just about murdered Caldarroste and/or Persimmon. In hindsight, it probably wouldn't have been too bad if we had let him...but it was too late now. Persimmon started acting crazy and Caldarroste tried to calm him down, but I couldn't care less about a crazy pirate with no magic. "Come on," I said to my friends, leading them away. We went north, only to come to a barricade created by the Space Police. "Beat it. This ain't no place for kids," one Space Trooper said. "At least we're not illiterate," Sorbet snapped.

"Look sweetheart, I don't care how pretty or how smart you are, we're guarding the treasure and you could be a pirate who has come to steal it," another Space Trooper spoke up. "We're not pirates! We're here to make sure the treasure's safe, too!" Chai blurted. "They are lying," Caldarroste said, pushing past us to stand in front of the Space Troopers.

"They're pirates!" he declared. I glared at the otter, feeling my element respond to my anger. The Space Troopers studied Caldarroste. "Are you a pirate, too?" "Maybe," Caldarroste replied, before shoving past all the troopers and running off while cackling like a crazy man. "That guy just sold you out to make a break for the treasure? What a jerk," one of the troopers commented while a few other troopers chased after the otter. Sorbet narrowed her eyes and stepped up to him. "Treasure means Water Millennium Gummy, doesn't it?" she demanded. The trooper took a step back and I got the feeling that he was scowling. "Get out of here, kids," he ordered.

Pico looked ready to attack the guy, but I held my arm out in front of him. "Listen to the nice Space Trooper, Pico," I said. "Your little friend is smart. Better follow her or you might end up hurt," the trooper commented. "As for you, be careful. Wouldn't want you to meet an unfortunate end, would we?" I asked, then gave him my most sadistic smile and letting tendrils of darkness coil around him. "L-leave," he stammered. I smiled sweetly this time, but it seemed to scare him even more. I led my friends away and no one said anything about what just happened.

"There has to be another way around," I muttered. We headed south and down the narrow and twisty path until a familiar cat jumped in front of us. "Parfait!" I exclaimed. "Hey Nadia! I'm glad to see you! Headmaster Sturgeon predicted you would come, and you have! Follow me! He really wants to meet you!" Parfait exclaimed, gesturing for us to follow her, which we did. We entered a small town-like area with a building that I personally thought resembled a squid at the center. "This is Ambergris Prep! Craaken himself founded this school, and we're also the ones in charge of the Book of the Darned," Parfait explained as she led us inside.

She lowered her voice to a whisper, "Some girl was reading it one night and left it out, which was when Kale stole it. Thanks for helping me get it back, by the way." She let us into the room at the center and we walked in to see an elderly man who must be Headmaster Sturgeon sitting behind a fancy-looking desk. "Ah! Wonderful! You've arrived! I understand you are Madeline's students?" he questioned. "Yes, Miss Madeline taught us," I said slowly. "Excellent! Then you should be more than capable of retrieving the Water Millennium Gummy from the Holy Water Pyramid?" He made it sound like a question, but we all knew it was a command.

"We'd be happy to," I stated. "Wonderful! Parfait, you'll show them which path to take?" Again, we all knew the question was an order. "Sure Headmaster! Come on, Nadia! No time to waste!" Parfait exclaimed, and then we were off, not even getting any time to really truly rest.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

"There's the Holy Water Pyramid! I'll sneak in and search for a way to access the upper levels, you guys deal with the Space Police!" Parfait hissed. She had led us along a twisty path that was so confusing, I was sure it would have taken us hours to find our way to our destination if we hadn't had Parfait to lead us.

Without another word, she took off, easily sneaking past the guards and getting into the pyramid. I looked to my friends. Pico looked determined and so did Sorbet, Mokka was as unreadable as ever, Lassi refused to look at me, and Chai seemed just a little nervous. "Let's go," I stated, marching towards the three Space Troopers.

The sun was up, looking very bright and cheerful, but I was inwardly cursing the sun. It left me vulnerable. Chai attacked first. "Briar Patch!" Several thorny branches erupted from the ground, striking the troopers. The three Space Troopers went after Chai's attack. They shifted their shields to guard themselves from magic attacks, while my mind worked quickly. They could use those shields to protect themselves from magic, but they couldn't protect themselves from physical attacks at the same time. I jumped towards one and kicked him in the stomach several times. Pico seemed to have the same idea and he jumped towards another and began to punch him repeatedly.

I soon delivered a kick that sent one Space Trooper flying backwards, and he quickly fled from battle. Turning, I saw Pico had done the same to the trooper he'd been attacking, and now there was only one left. The last one shifted his shield to block physical attacks, and that's when Pico and I struck. "Afterburner!" "Shadow Die!" The final Space Trooper retreated and we all rushed into the Holy Water Pyramid.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

"This place is a maze! I hate this! How are we supposed to find Parfait!" Pico screamed in frustration. It had taken forever for us to reach the bottom floor, but we'd finally done it. We'd searched every other floor several times, but it was Sorbet who finally figured out we were walking in circles. I shoved open the door to next room and almost sobbed in relief when I saw Parfait in there. She turned around when we entered. "The Space Police are blocking the upper levels and there's no way to get to the top through the lower levels, which means we have to destroy that flying...thing! But look at this!" Parfait pointed up and we all looked upwards. We could clearly see the setting sun and the Space Police blockade device.

"Whoa!" Pico exclaimed. While my friends talked to Parfait, I studied the room. There was a giant pot in the center, and the mural on the wall behind it depicted some kind of ceremony. The mural showed fire reaching towards the heavens, and, when I brushed off the soot on the pot, I found the fire symbol engraved in it. I smiled, and then felt my head throb in pain.

_Cloaked figures...screams...crying...chanting...fire everywhere...dancing...savages...blood...blood...blood everywhere...so much blood..._

And just as suddenly as it came, it was gone. The memory disappeared like a leaf in the wind, and I couldn't grasp it again, no matter how much I wanted to remember. At least now I knew what to do, though. "Pico, use your fire magic on this pot," I called. Pico seemed confused and looked ready to protest, but Sorbet quickly connected the dots as well. The water mage gasped and said, "Pico, listen to Nadia! She knows what she's doing!"

Pico's arguements stopped before they even started and he began to chant, "Fire burning in my belly! Fire blazing in the stars! Roiling, boiling, churning burning, cover us, and clense the world!" The air became heated and flames burst up, reaching from the pot towards the skies. I watched with satisfaction as the shield thing fell right out of the sky and more heard as it hit the ground and burst into flames. "I. Am. AWESOME!" Pico shouted. "Nice job! That was really cool! Okay, I'm going to go scope it out! See you guys on the upper levels!" Parfait exclaimed, and then raced away. Pico groaned. "Not that damn maze again!"

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

"I hate that maze! Hate it, hate it, hate it!" Pico ranted as we finally exited the lower levels of the pyramid. I said nothing as I stared towards the horizon. I could see the sun moving lower in the sky, almost completely gone. I could feel the edges of the darkness creeping in, ready to lend me some strength. There was something else though, the faint whispers of something in the darkness that I'd long ago forgotten about and, no matter what, I couldn't seem to remember it.

I shook my head and marched forward. There were three more Space Police Troopers standing guard on the upper levels and I engaged in battle without another thought. Before they could even shift their shields I struck out with my spells, casting Shadow Die over and over until the three troopers ran away screaming. My friends stared at me in shock, but I ignored their stares and entered the Pyramid. I'd never been so thankful as to realize that the upper levels were not confusing at all. We traveled through the pyramid and raced to Parfait when we found her passed out on the ground.

"Parfait!" I exclaimed, dropping to my knees beside her. "Abalon...Demar...stop him...before he...gets the...gummy!" she gasped, trying to get up, only to fall back down. "Parfait, stay still and don't worry. We'll get the gummy," Mokka said. I turned my head towards him; I hadn't even realized he'd come up behind me. I nodded and stood up. We raced into the next room and skidded to a halt when a familiar stench hit us. "Ugh! Nasty!" I shouted, holding my nose.

"Ugh, didn't we already fight this guy?" Pico asked, stepping up to stand beside me, also holding his nose. He was referring to the familiar blob shape of Gil Mudflap, standing just ahead with an unfamiliar creepy person beside him. "You were defeated by six CHILDREN?" the unfamiliar creeper trilled. "I crush them this time!" Gil Mudflap exclaimed. The other person shoved Mudflap away, drawing a sword. "That must be Abalon Demar," Chai whispered. "Are you sure? Parfait said Abalon was a guy. This person looks more like a girl," Sorbet whispered back.

I blocked their whisperings out as Abalon Demar advanced. "I'll destroy you little brats," he hissed. Another wave of that awful stench hit us, and he paused. "Let's take this into a room with clean air," he said. He walked past us and went out of the room and we quickly followed. As the door closed, he attacked us.

"Forested Field!" Ice struck out against us like sharp needles, striking multiple times into some of us, and only once in others. I felt the sun vanish and felt the darkness wash over me, and I powered up and struck. "Shadow Die!" Abalon Demar glared at me. "Afterburner!" Pico yelled. The spell slammed into Abalon and the water magician turned his glare on Pico. "Forested Field!" The spell snapped out and struck Pico several times. The fire mage was in intense pain when he hit the ground, out cold. "No! Pico!" Sorbet exclaimed, then turned furious as she glared death at Abalon Demar. "Absolute Zero!" I felt the air freeze and the spell snapped into Abalon Demar. He seemed like he was going to do the same thing he'd done to Pico, so I yelled out, "Blood Money!"

The spell took off, splitting in three before spiraling down towards Demar and then snapping back to me when his health was collected. "Sweet Nothings!" Abalon Demar said, and cast some weird spell on me. I didn't feel any different, so I thought perhaps I was immune. Chai attacked with Pepperthorn, and Lassi attacked with Wind Talon. Mokka attacked with Gravel Pounder, and just as I was about to use Shadow Die again, intense pain shot through me. "What the hell?" I screamed. "That spell I used on you? It was a charm. You can't very well attack the one who has charmed you," Abalon Demar said with a smirk. I gritted my teeth and glared at him.

Once again, I tried to attack, only for my vision to swim out of focus as I fell to the ground. The world was spinning and everything was a blurr. Nothing was clear except Abalon Demar. My whole world seemed to revolve around him, no matter how much I tried to break free of the charm. Mokka suddenly roared in fury. "Boulder Bash!" A large boulder crashed into Abalon and he cried out in pain and then smirked at Mokka. "Oh, so you have a soft spot? Hello, Goodbye!" he called, and then suddenly the charm snapped, but I was left feeling weak and unimportant, like everything else no longer had importance. "Nadia!" someone shouted from far away, but it didn't register.

Suddenly I was being pulled to my feet and I had some sense recovered. "BLOOD MONEY!" I suddenly cried, feeling nothing except the need to grasp blood, grasp health, grasp vengence, grasp **LIFE**. The spell hit Abalon Demar full on and when the health came back, I wanted more, so I cast the spell again. "Blood Money!" Again, the health came back, and all I felt was the desire for more blood. "Blood Money!" By this time, I was shrieking out my spell like a feral beast, but I didn't care. I **needed **the blood!

Finally, there was no more blood to take and Abalon retreated. Gil Mudflap collected his friend and then they disappeared in a flash of light. Pico struggled to his feet as he gurgled something about the gummy. I gasped as I came back to myself and darted back into the room, just in time to see Caldarroste reaching for the gummy. I screamed and tackled the otter, struggling to snatch the gummy. My elbow connected with something, and then Caldarroste's grip on the gummy went slack and I pulled back with a shout of triumph, the gummy clasped firmly in my hands.

"Nice job, Nadia! Now let's report back to Heatmaster Sturgeon!" Parfait exclaimed from where she was partially leaning against Lassi for support. I nodded and she led the way back to Ambergris Prep.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

The Headmaster was kind enough to let us keep the gummy so we could get to Nova, and he offered us a place to stay the night and rest. Everyone else was asleep when I snuck out of the room and into the room a couple doors down. I was grateful Parfait had shown us where everything was after we'd collected the gummy. I tip-toed over to the counter and pulled out the Book of the Darned. I hesitated as I was about to open it. Was this book worth my life? It was a very risky gamble, reading a cursed book. However, I really wanted to stop this waking nightmares, learn powerful spells so I could save my teacher, maybe this book could even tell me the weaknesses of my sworn enemies, the enigmas.

Then, I thought of my friends. Chai would freak if he ever found out, Pico would demand to know all the cool spells and then ask why I wasn't dead yet. Sorbet would frown disapprovingly, Mokka would just sigh electronically, and Lassi...well, at the moment, I wasn't sure what my best friend's reaction would be. She still hadn't spoken to me since that incident at the festival. But she probably wouldn't be happy.

But...the power...and the possible cures... I shook my head and put the book away, slowly backing away from the counter before turning and running from the room.

~CASSIA~CASSIA~

The next morning, we were all surprised when Detective Beignet ran in. "Nadia! Something is wrong on Gren! The felins need your help! Your assisstance is needed on Gren right away! And...now I...must...rest," he panted. Clearly, he'd been running a lot. "Thanks Detective!" I called as I raced towards the boat so we could get to our rocket. I'd had a dream last night. A strange boy had said something about Gren being very important. Maybe I would find more of my past there, too.

* * *

><p>End chapter! I was uncertain how to end that, so sorry if it seemed rushed! ...You know what I just noticed? There is a transformer from Revenge of the Fallen named Mudflap, and when I refer to Gil Mudflap as just Mudflap, it makes me think of that Autobot! ...Yeah, I just made a transformers reference in Magical Starsign... wow...<p>

Please review!


	10. Wood Millennium Gummy

Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign. This fact makes me sad...

* * *

><p>Chapter 10- Wood Millennium Gummy<p>

"We're landing on Gren!" Sorbet announced. The rocket landed and we got off. I couldn't help but remember how last time we'd been here, Eric had been with us. "Let's find out what was so important we were needed here ASAP," Chai said, heading toward Tropica. We entered the village to be greeted with mass chaos. Felins were freaking out and running in circles, and there was one who was just running back and forth as though that might help whatever disaster was occuring. "The forest is on fire!" he screamed before running into the nearest home. Two more felin girls ran into the town and raced over to us.

"Nadia! There's a strange man out there! I think he's Space Police!" one exclaimed. Her friend pointed frantically back the way they came and then the two went and hid in another home. I led my friends out the Northern half of town and we stared in horror at the sight of the flames ravaging the forest. In the center of it, staring out towards Assam, was Abalon Demar.

He didn't even turn to speak to us, "So, you really are going to collect all the Millennium Gummies. What a very unwise move. As you can see, because of these fools on this planet, the Wood Millennium Gummy will soon be gone, and you will be unable to get to Nova. So, I say now, Goodbye!" With that said, he used his saucer thing and flew off.

"We have to put this fire out somehow!" Sorbet exclaimed. I carefully walked through the flames, heading for one of the trails that led deeper into the forest, thinking perhaps that we could use the river. My friends carefully followed me, avoiding the large patches of flames and following the path I took. However, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the person who was causing this, or should I say felin.

"Farina." She spun towards me when I said her name, staring at me in shock. Something...not pleasent...crossed her face and I sensed a strange presence clinging to her. I'd felt that presence once before, from her little plant. We stared at each other for a moment, but when I took a few steps forward, she dashed back the way she'd come. I tried to follow, but a wall of flames erupted in front of me, burning a strand of hair that got a little too close to the fire. I fell back and Pico saved me from hitting the ground.

"Let's try to find another way around," Sorbet suggested. I nodded, still staring after Farina. That presence could be affecting her actions. I followed my friends, but it was Mokka who noticed the path that had been opened by the flames. Pico led us through, keeping the flames back with his magic. The fire was worse here, tearing everything apart. I studied everything in the small closed off area.

It seemed as though someone had been living there. There was a bed formed from twigs and leaves, some food long gone bad, and other things that were no longer identifiable thanks to the fire.

We came to a clearing with a strange looking tiki fountain. Sorbet pushed past Pico and ran over to the fountain. "Do you think it's alive?" she asked. "I don't think there would be enough water to put out this raging inferno," I said, crossing my arms across my chest. Sorbet ignored me and cast her wild magic spell. Water sprung up from the ground and filled the fountain.

"Okay, great, a small little stream. How is that going to help?" Pico asked. "Beepbloopbeep, sensors indicate a stronger water source deep underground. Perhaps I could bring it above ground?" Mokka said, and then he also cast his wild magic spell. The ground trembled and split apart, and more water started flowing from the fountain. It still didn't seem to be that much water, and now Pico was crossing his arms and looking just as doubtful as me.

"I can use my wind magic to spread the water!" Lassi spoke up. "Hear me wind, hear my call, dancing in the sky, shaping the clouds whispering to the heavens, hear my plea, and send your gale." The wind picked up speed until it was raging like a hurricane, whipping the water around the area nearest, before expanding in power and spreading the water throughout the planet at the same wind-speeds. When the wind calmed, all that was left was the ashes from the fire and smoke rising from the once flaming plants.

"I'll bring the trees back to life," Chai said. "Little leaf green leaf, gather light to you. Little root deep root bing the earth to you. Mind the trunk that hold you high! Mind the branches long and proud! So strong stands the forest!" A bright green light shone brightly, expanding to cover the area, and then the planet. It was calming, soothing, and spoke of healing. When the light was gone, all the plants were as they were before the fire, and my four friends looked very proud of themselves.

While the other celebrated the small victory, Pico got over-confident and wanted to join in. "Right! My turn! Fire-" I punched Pico in the face as hard as I could and he went flying through the air and slammed into a recently healed tree. "What the hell was that for?" he shouted, rubbing his jaw where I had hit him. "For being an idiot! The fire was literally just put out! You're a fire magician! You figure it out!" I snapped.

Understanding came into his eyes and he nodded as he stood up. Sorbet hovered over him worridly. "Was it really necessary to hit him so hard?" she demanded. I felt a little guilty but shrugged and turned away, continuing to march North, and I barely heard as Pico asked the other, "What's her problem?"

~GREN~GREN~

Upon walking through the same back door into Assam, three pirate otters approached and attacked. I was beyond furious. Emotional buildup left me feeling angry and confused and sick and I just wanted to **hurt** someone! "Dazzle Darts!" I yelled, casting the spell. The spell arched high and spilt into several darts, striking the three otter repeatedly. I felt a rush of power, and cast the spell again. "Dazzle Darts!" The same thing as before happened, and the otters retreated just as my friends came running over.

The otters apologized repeatedly to me and my friends looked shocked. "What happened?" Chai asked. I shrugged and chose not to respond and not tell them about my new spell. I could feel my power expanding at an alarming speed, a speed I couldn't control. I was losing control of my magic.

And that scared me.

~GREN~GREN~

After defeating more pirate otters, gaining their respect, and accepting their apologies, they explained that "Bobtail" was the one who wanted all intruders gone. The only reason they obeyed her was because she scared them. She cast destructive spells and beat them up if they didn't obey her. When we said we would take her down, they gave us a code and all but shoved us at the "Holy Tree." "The otters and felins are buried deep" was what got us past the guard, and here we stood, in front of the Holy Tree.

The tree was large, and I sensed there was an ancient power around it. I also felt a sense of foreboding, but I ignored this feeling and entered the tree. We saw several vines, and talked to the otter next to one vine. He said to always go up the vines that have otters by them. And off we went.

~GREN~GREN~

Finally reaching what we hoped was our destination led to three pirate otters blocking our path. "You ain't allowed through here. This ain't no place for no kids," one otter said. My eye twitched. I was so sick and tired of people underestimating us because we were considered kids.

"Look, I honestly couldn't care less about your opinion. You're going to let us in or we're going to have a problem here," I spat. The leader of the trio glared at me, and I glared right back. It was a battle of wills that would turn into a physical fight the moment one of us got tired of the glaring contest, or until the otter made the decision to let us pass and enter the room they were guarding.

"No. You're not going in." The response was not the right choice to make. I sprang forward, already casting my spell. "Shadow Die!" The shadow cube closed in on the leader of the trio and exploded with a flash of dark sparkles. I was surprised at how powerful the spell was. Then I remembered the alarming speeds at which my powers were expanding.

"Briar Patch!" "Afterburner!" Chai and Pico jumped into the battle to take on the other two otters. "Wind Talon!" Lassi's spell spiraled over our heads, attacking all three otters. "Hailstorm!" Sorbet helped Lassi's actions, and sooner rather than later, the otters ran off, but not before commenting that we might be stronger than "Bobtail," who I was beginning to suspect really was Farina.

When they were gone, we entered the room they had been guarding and stopped dead at what we saw. I felt like I was going to be sick. Felins and otters alike were buried up to their necks in the ground. I just hoped they weren't actually, well, you know. No longer among the living. Like Eric. A wave of sadness came over me as well as the sick feeling. So many people, **innocent** people, had suffered at the hands of these pirates and I promised myself that I would stop the evil pirates all costs, my safety be damned.

Pico and Sorbet stepped forward to investigate, seemingly the only two not frozen from disgust at the scene before them. Sorbet kind of hovered, careful not to touch any of them, while Pico shamelessly started poking one of them. When the one he was poking stirred, the fire magician jumped back with a startled shout. The other buried otters and felins started to stir as well, begging for us to help them. "I think they're all okay. Just thirsty and hungry," Sorbet reported.

We'd all stepped forward into the room when another, familiar felin entered the room behind us. She looked around in shock. "Did...did Miss Farina do this?" she gasped. "Semolina!" Lassi exclaimed as we finally recognized her. "They're all alive, Semolina. Calm down," I ordered.

The felin I was standing by started mumbling nonsense about Durum being in the back room. Semolina gasped and ran to the back room, and we quickly followed. She was standing beside Durum, and the felin was mumbling something about roots being tangled around him so he couldn't move. Pico cursed the tree and he started trying to dig out Durum with Mokka and Chai helping him. Meanwhile, I studied the tree.

Why was there a tree within a tree? It didn't make any sense. Unless...that same evil presence that had been around that plant Farina had back a long time ago, and it was the same presence that had been floating around Farina when we saw her in the forest, it was right here, around that tree. This was the plant that Farina had taken such good care of! This was the evil little plant, except it was all big now!

Then, right as I had my epiphany, the ground started to tremble violently, and the very same, very **evil **tree I'd been studying **moved**!

"Damn it!" I yelled, summoning the familiar raging magic power I knew I had. "Dazzle Darts!" The spell took off, power pulsed through me and I used that power to fuel the spell. The dark darts attacked the tree and it roared, opening eyes I hadn't even known were there and sending its glare right at me. "What the hell?" Pico shouted, staring at the tree with wide eyes.

"I think you made it mad, Nadia," Sorbet observed, taking a step back. Her eyes were also wide, although I didn't know if it was from shock or fear, and I wasn't about to take the time to exchange opinions on an evil tree coming to life when said tree was going to attack us!

"It was going to attack anyway," I replied with a shrug, eyeing the tree warily. I had no idea if this...this evil tree could cast magic, or if it could summon evil little minions to do its biding, or if it could invade our minds and turn us against each other. There were a thousand possibilities of what this tree could do, none of which I wanted to find out.

"Well, it's got to be taken down. Might as well get it over with," Pico said, stepping forward with a shrug. He glared at the tree and punched his fist forward suddenly, shouting out, "Afterburner!" A stream of fire slammed into the tree and it let out another roar. A small little creature thing jumped forth and landed neatly on the ground in front of us. It lept toward Pico, but Sorbet interfered. "Absolute Zero!" Her attack left the thing frozen, before it simply disintegrated. I watched all this with a critical eye, and a plan formed.

"Whenever it's attacked with fire magic, those things are going to come at us, but they're weaK. Sorbet, Mokka, take care of those things before they get to us. Chai, Pico, and I will take care of this stupid tree," I ordered, still glaring at the tree. Lassi seemed to have a problem with my plan.

"What, now I'm not good enough to help you guys?" she demanded, and I winced, remembering she was still mad at me. I thought quickly. The only reason I hadn't given her a task was because I thought it might just piss her off even more if I started ordering her around. Apparently, not telling her what to do was just as high an insult. Really, there was no easy route to fix our friendship, was there?

"Well, you're magic doesn't do the best against wood magic. I was thinking you would just heal, but if you want to do something else...?" I offered hesitantly. I really didn't want to hear her answer, but what choice do I have?

"So now you're insulting my magic?"

"No! I was just stating the facts-"

"Shut up and concentrate on the battle!" Chai suddenly shouted, shocking Lassi and I into silence. We were so shocked, I didn't even have time to react when the tree swallowed me, much like the mojo had. It spat me back out and I crashed against the ground, covered in sap.

"Ugh! Why does everything on this damn planet try to eat me!" I screamed in frustration, desperately trying to get the sap off before it dried. Pico moved in front of me and punched his fist forward again, "Afterburner!" The tree didn't like that attack any more than it did the first time and another little creature landed on the ground in front of us. This time Mokka took care of the little creature. "Boulder Bash!" The creature was crushed like a small insect, and then I was back on my feet and in the fight.

"Blood Money!" The spell took off in spirals, attacked the tree, and then brought my stolen health back to me. "Briar Patch!" Chai added a spell to help. The tree was looking a little confused and mad, so it attacked. I dodged the same attack from earlier, only for the tree to get Sorbet. She screamed and when she was spat back out she hit the ground and was knocked out. Pico lost it.

The room was practially red as his anger got the better of him. "Heat Fondu!" A new spell snapped out, a trail of heat spiraling a confusing path before slamming into the tree. I sensed the tree was weakening, because this time, no little creature came worth to attack. I decided to finish this.

I poured all my power into one final spell. If this failed, well, that wouldn't be good. My magic was at its full height, and the night fueled me, adding to my strength as I summoned the one spell. "ZERO JOKER!" The dark symbol burned a portal in the air, and then it split open without a sound, flooding the room with inky darkness. No one else was there; it was just me and the ultimate dark magician himself. The skeletal figure before me stared at me with black, soulless eye-sockets, shrouded in a dark cloak, and a large scythe in one hand. We stared at each other, and there seemed to be some kind of agreement. A tense moment where we made a pact of cooperation.

Just like that, the moment was over, and the skeletal figure turned back and attacked the evil tree. The evil tree gave a horrible scream and just...died. The skeletal figure disappeared, and I dropped to my knees, staring in shock and feeling weak. I was unaware of anything else, only that...something had just happened. I knew it was important, but I couldn't bring myself to acknowledge it's importance, or that my friends had just witnessed...whatever that was. Nothing made sense anymore.

Was I finally going off the deep-end?

~GREN~GREN~

I don't know how long I'd sat there, but when I slowly stood up and turned around, all the otters and felins from this back room were free, and Farina had just walked into the room, looking around in confusion. "What...happened...to...my...tree...?" Her eyes fell on me and I saw the fury that flashed through them. She knew what had happened, and, despite the destruction of that horrible evil presence, she still had that evil presence floating around her, clouding her judgement, making her beyond furious. I dropped into a defensive stance and Farina tackled me, shoving Chai to the ground in the process. Then she was punching me, and I punched back and we were tumbling across the ground locked in combat, each one intent on ripping the other's throat out.

We only stopped when someone hauled me off Farina, who was still snarling like some kind of feral beast. There were many hands pulling me back, preventing me from jumping back into the fight, but I wanted to attack. Everything was so much easier when you were clawing at someone's eyes. No confusion, no thoughts, just the feral instinct fueling you.

My head jerked sideways when someone suddenly slapped me across the face. I shook my head, and touched where it stung. I glanced up, and saw Sorbet glaring at me. I smiled brightly. That weird haze in my mind was gone. Although I was a little distrubed that I could fall so easily into my feral instincts...no, that wasn't quite the right description. It was more like...insanity. "Thanks Sorbet! I needed that!" I declared, steadying myself.

Semolina was yelling at Farina, and I kind of felt sorry for Farina, until I saw the blood dripping down my neck and getting all over my clothes, and I scowled darkly at the ground. Suddenly, my attention was drawn to a flower that was sitting where that stupid tree once was. I tilted my head to the side and stared at the flower. It was a creepy flower; I didn't trust its deceitful bright colors for a moment. "Where did that flower come from?" I asked. My friends turned to stare at it, and Lassi and Chai took a hesitant step forward.

"I think it's really pretty," Lassi said, reaching out a hand towards it. Time seemed to slow. That same presence from the tree flared to life around the flower, and I saw **teeth **on the thing! Suddenly time was back at its normal speed and I lunged forward and snatched Lassi's hand away from the flower, just as those teeth tried to take her hand off. She stumbled back in shock and stared stupidly at the flower.

She glanced at me. "How did you know that it was going to bite me?" she asked. I shrugged. I honestly had no idea how I knew half of the stuff that I seemed to know. It seemed I knew even less about myself than I previously thought. Chai was now staring thoughtfully at the flower.

"Oh! I read about this! This flower is rumored to be the key to getting the Millennium Gummy! It creates the Wood Millennium Gummy when...ah..." he trailed away, mumbling something that none of us could hear. I narrowed my eyes.

"What was that, Chai?"

"Um...it...eats someone...and...ah...that person's essence becomes the...Wood Millennium Gummy," he said sheepishly, glancing at everyone in the room before quickly dropping his gaze to the ground. We stared at him blankly for a moment, before turning our uncomprehending eyes to the flower.

"So...if we want to get the Wood Millennium Gummy...someone needs to be eaten," I said slowly, still uncertain about this new development.

"Any, um, volunteers?" Sorbet asked nervously, meeting all of our eyes quickly. Silence had fallen on the room, each person caught up in their own thoughts on what this meant.

Surprisingly, Semolina was the first one to speak. "I understand." With that, she stepped even closer to the flower. We could only watch in horror as the flower swallowed her whole. Moments later, a Wood Millennium Gummy sat where the flower had once been and I gently picked up said gummy, staring at it in horror.

"...Semolina?"

~GREN~GREN~

We all trooped back to Tropica and went straight to the inn to rest. Mournfull silence had fallen over our group and we trudged along like a funeral procession. We still couldn't believe Semolina had just...technically, commited suicide. We paid for a night at the inn and went to the room. We each sat on a bed and glanced warily at each other, as though we expected someone else to kill themselves. "I...can't believe," Lassi started, and then fell silent.

Eventually, I said softly, "Try to get some sleep. We're after the next gummy tomorrow." Everyone stared at me for a moment, before reluctantly nodding and getting ready to sleep.

Soon, I heard soft snores filling the air, indicating Chai and Pico had fallen asleep. Soft whistles as Lassi inhaled and exhaled indicated she was also asleep. The red light of Mokka's optic clicked off, meaning he was in recharge mode. I listened for something to indicate Sorbet was asleep, but it was a pointless effort. "Sorbet?" I whispered into the darkness.

"Nadia. Why do you think Semolina did that? I mean, was it because she was living a miserable life, or was it because she wanted to help us in some way, or was it just fate?" Sorbet asked quietly.

I thought about the question. It was impossible to say. No one would really know what Semolina had been thinking, and we could never ask her now. And I told Sorbet as much, before adding, "I think it was destiny. Everyday, we all march towards our destiny. Maybe Semolina's destiny was to sacrifice herself for the greater good. We may never know if that was indeed her true destiny, but I know you can't change destiny. You fufill your purpose in life, and then you're nothing. Some higher being holds your past, present, and future destiny in their hands, and all we can do is go along with it. It's up to that higher being to mold our lives. We're pawns in that higher being's game that will benefit the greater good, and we don't even know it."

Sorbet was silent for a moment. "Nadia, where did you learn stuff like that? You sound like some old fortune teller," she said. I laughed softly at her comment. I supposed wisdom like that was supposedly beyond my years. "But thanks, Nadia. That made me feel better."

"No problem. Now seriously, go to sleep," I ordered. I waited a few more minutes and heard her breathing even out, indicating deep sleep. I sighed and closed my eyes to do the same.

~GREN~GREN~

I was hit with numerous dreams and nightmares. There were faceless people, the boy who always stood out in my memories, adults I did and didn't recognize. Screaming filled the air sometimes, other times it was deathly silent. Blood was everywhere.

I could see it. I could smell it. It was everywhere. I could taste it. It was in my nose, swimming before my eyes, the taste was stronger. I was drowning in the blood. So much blood. Screams reached my ears. There were hands, pulling at me, sightless people flashed before my eyes, their mouths dripping blood, their eyes sunken and empty. They were starving. They were in pain. Their skin was a deathly pale color as more screams ripped through the air and I was pulled along, faster and faster, until I was screaming, too, as I saw the monsters ripping other people apart. The monsters were coming closer to me. I tried to run, tried to get away, but claws sank into my skin and I felt blood started to flow. I screamed more, begged for mercy, and cried as the monsters continued to torture me. There was no where to go; no one could save me. I screamed and cried and begged all at once, and then there was nothing.

~GREN~GREN~

I awoke with a jolt. Blood was dripping from my wounds and I let out a soft gasp. It was another dream that attacked me. Lassi stirred and looked up. "Nadia?" she asked. She looked at me closer and frowned. "Again?" she asked. I just nodded.

"Do me a favor and wake everyone else up. I'm going to get ready and then we'll leave," I said softly ang went to do that.

A few minutes later, we were ready and headed to our rocked to find a felin waiting for us.

"Oh! Hey Nadia. The pirates caught this guy who can use magic. He just sits there and keeps crying. Do you think you could take him back to Erd?" he asked, glancing at the crying Spiny Mole. I instantly felt sorry for him.

"Of course," I replied. The felin beamed, thanked us, and left, while the Spiny Mole perked up and followed us onto our rocket. "Set a course for Erd," I ordered. Moments later, our rocked left Gren and we were back in space.

* * *

><p>Ta-da! That was long! Next chapter will also be long and will have strayed farther from the game storyline. Fear not! This only happens noticeably on both Erd chapters! Next chapter I'm so excited to work on and it should be very long!<p>

Well, review please!


	11. Earth Millennium Gummy

Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign. This fact makes me sad...

* * *

><p>Chapter 11- Earth Millennium Gummy<p>

Our rocket landed on Erd and our guest looked out eagerly. "Thank you so much for bringing me home! Please come with me and meet the king! I'm sure my grandfather would love to thank you." We stared at him in shock. "So you're like...a prince?" Lassi asked. He shrugged. "I guess."

My friends glanced at me. I also shrugged. "Maybe they know where we can find the Earth Millennium Gummy. We could ask," I stated. My friends nodded in agreement and we followed the Spiny Mole down to the underground kingdom.

We entered what could be considered the "throne room" and approached the regal looking Spiny Mole. "Colby! You are unharmed!" the king exclaimed, jumping up and embracing the smaller Spiny Mole. The king's grandson nodded.

"Yes, thanks to Nadia and her friends. Perhaps we could help them find this "Earth Millennium Gummy"?" Colby asked, gesturing to where we stood a respectful distance away. "These guys are strange," Lassi whispered. Sorbet punched her on the arm, effectively shutting her up.

"Welcome travelers! I am King Gorgonzola! Welcome to the Spiny Mole empire!" he declared, stepping closer to us and studying us. I had no idea why he was studying us so closely, but he seemed to see what he was looking for as he studied Lassi and I. "Minister Munster, fetch the Book of Darkness!" King Gorgonzola called, and an older Spiny Mole darted from the shadows, towards the collection of books, before darting back just as quickly, clutching a book in his claws.

King Gorgonzola accepted the book and then the older Spiny Mole darted away again. "Now, may I ask a few questions?" he asked. We nodded hesitantly and he continued, "Excellent. Now, you are all magicians correct?" Again, we all nodded. "Now, are either of you Wind or Dark magicians?"

"I'm a Dark magician," I said, and Lassi added, "And I'm a Wind magician. But what does this have to do with any-?" "Excellent! Excellent! Then you two are the magicians spoken of in the Book of Darkness!" he declared. Excitement colored his tone and I'd never seen an adult seem so giddy.

"Uh-" "The book tells of two magicians, one of the dark, and one of the wind. They are destined to destroy our mortal enemy, the Ant Queen! The essence of the night is the only thing that can add the power to the wind to destroy the Ant Queen forever!" he said, gesturing proudly as though he was the one who had written the book himself.

"They can't just go off and fight some powerful queen on their own! We all work together as a team!" Chai snapped, stepping forward. I was shocked at how he was so adament that we not fight this battle.

"They must be the ones to vanquish the Ant Queen! Only they have the power to do that!" King Gorgonzola insisted. Both were stubborn on their opinion, and I didn't want to see this get out if hand. King Gorgonzola could be a valuable ally, and I didn't want Chai to screw up that chance for help.

"I don't care what some damn book says! They're my friends! You can't just send them into battle and expect them to destroy some powerful enemy without any help at all! That's insanity! I won't let you do something like that to my friends!" Chai snapped. King Gorgonzola seemed slightly taken aback, as though he hadn't expected such defiance from a salamander.

"Now, Chai, hold on let's think about this-" Sorbet began, trying to keep the peace, only to be cut off, "Shut up, Sorbet! You know I'm right! This is utter insanity! That's like condemning them to death!" Chai snapped. Sorbet was also taken aback by Chai's new attitude, and I stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Chai! Enough! There is no need for this! Your attitude has gotten out of hand and while I appreciate your concern, this is my decision, and Lassi's as well, not yours! I have already decided I will attempt to defeat this Ant Queen, but Lassi still has to make her choice," I said, glancing at the rabbit-morph. Lassi had a thoughtful look on her face as she studied everyone in the room. She grabbed one of her ears and started to tug on it like she did during tests when she was trying very hard to concentrate and I could tell she was hesitant to accept the task. Still clutching her ear, she glanced around, meeting everyone's eyes, though it did not escape my notice that she didn't look at Mokka. Finally, she looked at me, and I looked back, and we came to an understanding.

She knew I didn't like Mokka, and I saw she forgave me. At the same time, I forgave her for her reaction. And we agreed we would help these...uh...people...in need. Her eyes became determined and she nodded at me. "I accept," she stated. King Gorgonzola clapped happily.

"Wonderful! Take your time to rest in our inn, and I suggest you leave at nightfall so you may battle the Ant Queen while you are in power," he said. Some kind of silent signal echoed through the ranks and another Spiny Mole came in and gestured for us to follow him. With no choice left to us, we followed the Spiny Mole out into the main part of the little underground empire. Looking around, I was shocked to see how few Spiny Moles lived here. I would have expected more of them. Then I thought of Colby and how he was kidnapped because he was a magician and the lack of Spiny Moles made more sense. Our escort led us into another room where the inn was, and the inn-keeper gestured for us to relax, obviously free of charge. Lassi and I each sat down on a bed to get some rest before our big battle.

And for once, no nightmare creatures greeted me.

~ERD~ERD~

I awoke to someone shaking me. Slowly and reluctantly I opened my eyes, and fought to not let out a scream. The creature standing over me was very ugly, and for a moment I'd thought I was in another nightmare. Then I remembered what all had happened and I relaxed. I slowly sat up and the inn-keeper went back to his station. Lassi was already awake, twitching nervously. I glanced around. All our other friends were fast asleep, and were unaware that we were about to leave.

"Let's go," I said softly. Lassi jumped at the sound of my voice. I couldn't tell if she was nervous about our task, or about the fact that we were going to be wandering in unknown territory in the dark. However, she followed me out of the room without hesitation and we were met by another guide, who led us to a stone door without a word.

The door had strange carvings on it, and I had no idea what they might mean. Silently, we went through the door to be greeted by a maze of tunnels. It took us a minute to figure out most of the tunnels led us in circles, but when we did, we took care to mark where we had been and sooner, rather than later, we found another door, although this one was less fancy. "You know, I think this might be where we're supposed to go," Lassi commented. I nodded in agreement and pushed open the door.

We found another tunnel, this one more narrow, and we followed it, only for it to open into a huge chamber. Inside the chamber was a nasty, disgusting, bloated, ant. "Ewww!" Lassi shrieked. I nodded in agreement, even as the thing that must be the Ant Queen turned her gaze on us.

"Well, we're here for a reason. Let's get this over with."

~ERD~ERD~

"This thing doesn't play fair!" Lassi complained. Then she ducked out of the way as the Ant Queen fired some acid at her. I didn't respond; I was too busy trying to defeat two of the Ant Queen's lackeys. Everytime we destroyed them, the Ant Queen summoned more. I shoved both lackeys away from me, giving myself just enough room to cast a spell. "Dazzle Darts!"

The two ants fell back and I shifted my attention to the Ant Queen. "Lassi, cast Falcon Dive! I've got a plan!" I called. Lassi jumped away from another of the Ant Queen's attacks and declared, "Falcon Dive!"

As the spell took off, I added a spell to combine with Lassi's, "Shadow Die!" The two spells merged, and the wind falcon seemed to grow in size, until it was as dark as the night and giving off coils of darkness to add to the effect. Then the dark falcon dove towards the Ant Queen and slammed into her. For a moment, there was nothing and all fell silent, as though the whole world was holding its breath.

Then the darkness consumed the Ant Queen and with a horrible, unearthly scream, the Ant Queen exploded. Quickly, Lassi and I ducked behind a rock, preventing us from being covered in ant guts. We peered out from behind the rock to see the ravaged room. Guts covered the rocks and the ceiling, but before the two of us could retreat and return to the Spiny Mole Empire, we heard a voice, "Help! Help! Please, someone help me!"

The voice was faint, and far away, but Lassi and I started walking in the direction we thought the voice was coming from. "What would anyone be doing in this place?" Lassi wondered as she walked beside me. I shrugged. In all honesty, I found it confusing as well, but I also wasn't sure if maybe we weren't walking into some kind of trap. "Help!" We heard the voice again, this time much louder.

We went around another corner and saw a girl trapped in a cage. She wore a white colored, simple dress with silver sandals. Her eyes shone fearfully in the dim light and her short brown hair that was cut into layers fell to cover one half of her face. She stared at us, and we stared at her. Finally she said, "Well are you going to just stand there, or are you going to free me?"

Lassi and I were snapped out of our shocked daze and quickly searched for a key. Lassi found the key on a shelf on the other side of the room, and she quickly brought it over and unlocked the cage door, letting the girl exit.

"Hey thanks. I thought I was going to be stuck in that cage forever. I'm Cassie. Maybe you can help me with something else. My brother Eric and I got seperated. Have you seen him?" I felt myself freeze at her words, and Lassi shot a quick glance in my direction. Unexplained guilt washed over me. And I thought when I found out, I had reacted badly. Here was a girl, who was actually related to Eric, and knew so much more about him than I ever had or ever would. So how was she going to react?

"Yes, we...we met him," I finally admitted, looking anywhere except at Cassie. I knew she was grinning when she heard my response, but I couldn't bring myself to look at her. I felt too guilty.

"Really? Great! Well, how is he? Do you know where he is now? I really need to find him." The cheerfulness in her voice made what I was about to say so much more difficult to tell her.

"He...he died."

Silence met my words. Finally, I risked glancing up at Cassie. Her face showed no emotion at all, but there was something in her eyes, something that told me this was going to be a big mistake. And then I felt a presence stir. I took a closer look at her eyes. They flashed with so many emotions: pain, sadness, anger, loss, and finally, pure hatred and rage. "Oh. I see." She finally spoke, but her voice sounded strained, as though she was holding back tears, or screams of fury.

"Maybe you should come with us," Lassi said, sympathetic and nervous at the same time.

~ERD~ERD~

"You two just had to run off on your own, didn't you?!" Chai demanded when we returned, completely ignoring Cassie. Pico, however, didn't ignore her.

"Who the hell is she?" he demanded, glaring at Cassie. Of course, since he didn't know her, he would be suspicious because he didn't trust easily, especially since Kale had a death sentence on our heads. Cassie didn't seem the least bothered by Pico's attitude.

She studied him, and then strolled over to him, a coy smile sliding across her face. "The name's Cassie, handsome. And there's no need for such hostility. A big, strong guy like you wouldn't need to worry about a threat from little ol' me. After all, what could I do to you? In fact, why would I want to hurt you? You're obviously such a strong leader," she practically purred, getting in Pico personal space and wrapping her arms around him.

Pico's face heated up, but he still managed to puff out his chest with pride. "Yeah, I am pretty great."

Mokka made a sound resembling a snort of amusement. "You are not great. How many times have you been held back?" Cassie shifted her attention to the robot and pulled away from Pico.

"Oh, but there's something about robots, and their dry humor. You must be the brains here, am I right?" Again, she sounded like she was purring as she draped herself over him and ran her fingers over his plating. This seemed to fluster Mokka. "Well, yes, I am, but..."

"Hold on just a minute, girl! Don't think I don't see what you're trying to do!" Chai snapped, stomping over and pointing a finger at her accusingly. He was practically fuming with rage. Cassie detached herself from Mokka and latched on to Chai in much the same way as she'd clung to Mokka.

"Oh, and what am I trying to do, hm? I promise you, I'm not trying anything. Just being friendly," she said in that same voice as she practically cuddled up against Chai. Chai did not look impressed, simply grabbing her arms and removing them from where they were twined around his neck. Quickly, he stepped away uncertainly. Something flashed in Cassie's eyes, but soon she was back to paying attention to Pico and Mokka, showering them with praise and adoration.

Sorbet, Lassi, Chai, and I stood there, staring at her and our friends as she practically turned the two tough magicians into goop. Sorbet's right eyes was twitching and she clenched her hands into fists, while Lassi seemed ready to tackle Cassie and try to claw her eyes out. "What is her problem? Why is she acting like...some kind of...whore? And why is Pico buying it! Ugh! She's not even pretty!" Sorbet snarled quietly, almost to herself, although we heard her.

I exchanged a meaningful glance with Chai. Cassie was up to something, but we wouldn't have time to find out what. Hopefully, in our search for the Millennium Gummy, we would soon be far, far away from Cassie.

~ERD~ERD~

"We cannot thank you enough for destroying the Ant Queen, Lassi and Nadia! To show our appreciation, we will show you to Tektos, the last Stone Giant. If anyone knows where to find the Millennium Gummy you seek, it would be him," Gorgonzola said, gesturing to some other Spiny Moles. "Thank you, sir," I said formally with a small bow. "Journey safe, Hero Nadia!"

We were led out of the village area, where many Spiny Moles were cheering as we set off. "Wait!" came a shout. We paused and turned around, seeing Cassie running towards us. I resisted the urge to sigh, and fought to stop my eye from twitching as she flung her arms around Chai and declared, "I'm coming with you!" "That's really not ness-"

"No! I insist! I'll come with you!" she said urgently, clinging tighter to Chai. "Oh, she's not hurting anything, Nadia. She can come with us," Pico said. I glared at him. Since when did he get to make the decisions? Cassie smiled widely and gushed, "Oh, thank you Pico! Thank you!" Then she flashed another smile in his direction, making his face turn red again. "Oh, let's go already!" Sorbet snapped. I resisted another sigh. This would not end well.

~ERD~ERD~

Finding the Stone Giant and then reaching the Stone Giant were two fairly easy tasks. Traveling through the Stone Giant to reach his brain posed a problem, though. Cassie kept whispering things to Chai, Pico, and Mokka, and all three of them seemed to be falling for whatever she was saying. Which was crazy! What could she possibly be saying that they would believe! Actually, when I was confronted about it, I really wished I didn't know.

We had just stopped to rest when Chai spoke, "Nadia. We were talking and..." He trailed off, and Pico picked up, "What's this about not needing us, like you didn't need that Eric guy anymore?" I flinched when he said Eric's name, and then his words registered.

So that was the name of the game, huh? Vengence, and sabotage. I turned to the three boys, fury burning through me. Fury at Cassie for putting lies in their heads, and fury at them for believing the lies. "You know, you really shouldn't believe lies from a girl you just met."

The boys instantly got defensive, "Don't change the subject!" "You shouldn't be blaming Cassie!" "None of us really know much about you! She could be telling the truth!" At that last sentence, I felt like I was going to explode from anger. How dare they! How dare they claim they don't know anything about me, as though I was hiding something from them!

"Excuse me? You DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!? Are you accusing me of hiding something from you?! I assure you, you know as much about my past as I do, which is NOTHING! Do you know that I'm not even sure if Nadia is my real name? Do you know that I can't remember my parents? My past is just that. The past. I know nothing about it, you all know nothing about it, and Cassie sure as hell KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT IT!" I screamed, clenching my fists. And for a moment, all I saw was black, and whispers reached my ears, as though the darkness was speaking to me.

Pico, Mokka, and Chai instantly looked guilty, while Sorbet and Lassi just kept glaring at Cassie. However, I didn't care. All of a sudden, I just wanted to make them hurt. Make them hurt like I do, make them feel guilty! I went through the pain of never knowing every day, and they had the nerve to accuse me of hiding something!

"You're all so insensitive and STUPID! You wouldn't know a good thing if it slapped you in the face! How can you treat me like the enemy?! Do you even need me? No, probably not! Maybe I should leave! Would that make you all feel better? Should I leave? Maybe I can finally find out who I am, and bring back the information when I find it! Maybe then, you might trust me! Or maybe not! I don't care right now! Follow Cassie for all I care! Follow her to where ever the hell you think she can lead you! Maybe she can lead you to some happy world where there is no war! I don't care! I'm going after the Millennium Gummy ON MY OWN!" I shouted, turning and storming away.

~ERD~ERD~

As I climbed the ladder leading to Tektos' brain with Lassi and Sorbet behind me, Lassi spoke for the first time since I'd found out her and Sorbet were following me, "You had every right to be angry, Nadia. They had no right to question you like that."

"Yeah! Who needs them anyway? Boys are stupid, especially Pico! I mean, I don't even miss that red-headed, green eyed idiot," Sorbet added. When she started that sentence, she spoke with righteous fury, but her tone became a little dreamy at the end.

I smiled a small, secret smile as we finally reached the top of the ladder. There was a surprisingly small brain at the center, with a brownie resting nearby. Lassi went over to the brownie and poked him. He didn't react except to roll over on his side and kind of curl against a nearby rock. Lassi shrugged and wandered back over to us. I stepped forward, and hesitantly spoke to the brain, "Hello?"

"Oh! Children? Hello. May I ask why you are in my head?" the stone giant spoke, his voice filling the whole room, surprisingly not as loud or grating on our ears that it could have been, or was expected to be. "Well, uh, Tektos, we're searching for the Earth Millennium Gummy, and we were told you were the only one who knew where it was," I replied.

"Hm, and may I inquire as to why you search for the gummy?"

Suddenly, the whole giant shook.

The brownie in the corner shot to his feet in surprise, demanding, "Tektos? What is it? What's going on?" "...It seems there is a crazy girl joining with the pyschopath gunman from the Space Police," Tektos finally replied.

Lassi, Sorbet, and I looked up worridly. A girl? It had to be Cassie! Although they secretly hoped it wasn't, because that might mean that Chai, Pico, and Mokka were either captured or killed.

"We have to fight," I decided, marching out of Tektos' ear, which I secretly found gross, and walking forward to confront the maniacs, and feeling my heart sink when I saw that Cassie was indeed out there with the pyschopath, Magnus Muzzleflash.

"Nadia! I will have my revenge! My brother's death is your fault! I saw it in your eyes! I'm going to destroy you slowly and painfully and then torture your friends!" Cassie screamed when she saw me. "And I, Magnus Muzzleflash, will destroy anyone else who dare gets in her way!" the gunman declared. The two landed in front of us. I hadn't even noticed Cassie's hover thing until now, and my heart sank when I saw three other Space Police grunts holding Chai, Pico, and Mokka captive.

"Cassie, I don't know why exactly, but your fight is with me; leave them out of this," I said, managing to sound calm despite the rage burning in my heart.

"We will fight to the death!" Cassie screamed, her eyes wild and her fists raised, as though she felt I would back down and surrender if she stood there like a crazy person.

"So be it," I whispered softly, taking a battle stance. I knew I had to win. I had to save my teacher, I had to save the world, and then I had to find out who I really was. We were about to spring at each other to begin the final battle, when a swirl of mist suddenly swept between us, and then took shape, forming into a familiar boy... "Eric?" I asked softly, feeling utterly confused and heart-broken.

Cassie started screaming about trickery, but it all faded away to background noise. It was as though Eric and I were the only ones who existed. "Hey Princess. Sorry I had to leave you. I know what you're thinking. You think this," and here he gestured to his misty form, "Was your fault. It wasn't, though. And don't worry about Cassie. She's always been a little crazy. Got it in to her head that we had to be together, had to stop ourselves from falling to the level our parents were at. She didn't realize that she was already there." He shook his head sadly.

"Our parents were loyal servants, or actually slaves, to the King of Shadra. Be careful Princess; he's bad news, with all his experiments he preformed on my parents, and many other dark magicians. He survived, him and his son. No one knows about his girls, though. Just be careful. And don't fret; you'll know who you are soon. There's no need to take off any time soon. I love yah, Princess, but it's time for both of us to move on. Good luck, Nadia."

With that, the wind kicked up, and then Eric's mist form was gone, taking a screaming Cassie and all the Space Police Troopers with him, but leaving us behind, with Pico, Chai, and Mokka, thankfully, safe.

~ERD~ERD~

"Thank you for saving Tektos and I. He wanted you to have the Earth Millennium Gummy. Sorry he couldn't be here to see you off himself, but he was busy being a peace-maker between the robots and the Spiney Moles. Well, good luck." And with that said, the brownie turned and walked away after handing over the gummy. We all boarded Neumann and Sorbet went over to the console when we heard it beep.

She clicked a few buttons, and reported, "Brie Pourri says King Suspiro wants to see us at the Palace. I guess we might as well go since we just need the Wind Millennium Gummy." I nodded. "Good. Set a course." Lassi rushed to obey, and a tense, awkward silence fell as the rocket took off for Puffoon.

* * *

><p>That's that chapter. I had fun writing it, and it's the longest by far. Review please!<p> 


	12. Wind Millennium Gummy

Point of view will be changing a lot this chapter, so just pay attention to what I use as page breaks to see who the POV belongs to. Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign. This fact makes me sad...

* * *

><p>Chapter 12- Wind Millennium Gummy<p>

Our rocket landed on Puffoon, the wind planet, in the same bay it had landed at the last time we were here. I sighed as I got off our rocket. That seemed so very long ago now, back when Eric was still alive. Yes, he did tell me to move on, but I found it near impossible to do.

After all, he had been my first love. They say a girl never gets over her first love, right? So how could he sound so heartless by telling me to move on. Impossible didn't even begin to describe how that seemed. Right now, I was feeling like I would never feel love ever again.

I resisted the urge to sigh again as my friends climbed down the ladder and joined me. I glanced at each of them. Little to no sleep had been had on the rocket, and they all looked like they were physically and emotionally drained. This journey had taken a toll on us all, and I just hoped it would be over soon so we could get back to school.

"Let's go," I ordered, and started to walk away, leading the way towards the palace. As I walked, I allowed myself to become lost in thought. This great adventure had turned out to be something that brought us closer, and then drove us apart, putting our friendship through tests and trials we had never thought we would have to face. A lot of this adventure had circled around dark magicians, and somehow my past kept popping back up.

I wanted to scream. The whole subject of my past just wouldn't go away, and kept coming back like some kind of bad penny. Then there was that strange girl, who knew so much about everything. She also seemed to be part of this, although how I couldn't begin to imagine. She was so familiar, and yet I didn't know anything about her, so why was she familiar? This was all so confusing and I was starting to get a headache from thinking so hard and trying to come out with connections that simply **weren't there**!

I glanced over and saw Brie Pourri standing guard outside the palace, watching us warily. That was another thing. Ever since she had tried to drop me off the side of the planet to get to Chai, which would thus leave me floating aimlessly through the galaxy until I ran out of air in my lungs and died, she had been wary around me. Come to think of it, that was when that girl had taken control of my body, leaving me unable to do anything. That was also the last time I'd seen the stranger.

Brie Pourri's voice jolted me out of my thoughts, "King Suspiro is waiting for you just ahead." I glanced around at her after we'd walked past, and I was startled to see her watching me. When our eyes met, she flinched and looked away.

Okay...weird. How much weirder could this really truly get before I lost my mind?

~PUFFOON~PUFFOON~

"Welcome, Nadia Caine! I've heard much about you and your friends this past month!" King Suspiro greeted, sound far too jolly while we were in the middle of a war. I blinked when his words registered. Had it really only been a month? It felt so much longer. Well, I just hoped Principal Biscotti wasn't worrying his head off over how long we had been gone.

"What can we do for you, sir?" I asked politely. At least, I hoped I sounded polite. I hoped he wouldn't get upset about me not calling him your highness or anything, but for some reason, calling him by a royal title made me uncomfortable. In fact, mentions of any royalty made me uncomfortable. Maybe it had something to do with the warning of this mysterious "King of Shadra". I would have to look that title up at the library if I got back to school. 'When, Nadia, when' I mentally corrected myself, because we were going to survive this, damn it!

"Right to the point! I like that in a person! Very well, let me be direct as well. I want you all to kill Kale," King Suspiro stated. We stared at him in shock. His voice was grim, and the gleeful, child-like glint was gone from his eyes. He was serious.

"With all due respect, sir, why? I thought Kale was an advisor of yours. He even controls the Space Police," Sorbet spoke up finally, finding her voice while the rest of us were unable to.

"Ah, and that right there, dear girl, is the problem! You see, the Space Police do not listen to me any more at this point in time. Kale has them completely under his control, and this must be stopped immediately, before he makes good on his plans for our world," King Suspiro explained. His voice never wavered, he never seemed to falter.

"But...why us?" Lassi finally asked. I couldn't help but agree. Surely as the King, he could afford some kind of experienced bounty hunter or something? We were just kids, after all. I didn't see what we could really do.

"You see, Kale is a very powerful magician. I have sent several countless hunters after him, and all in vain. They were all killed, or convinced to join him. As powerful magicians yourselves, as travelers, you would actually have the best chance of stopping Kale. People tend to underestimate you, therefore you can also sneak up on them. They will never see you coming," King Suspiro continued, sounding quite proud of his reasoning. I for one was stunned by his clear faith and trust in us. He really believed that much in us? Well, that really put a lot of pressure on our shoulders.

"He's on Nova! We can't get there! And what is he planning anyway?" Pico suddenly exploded. His face was red and I could practically see steam coming out of his ears. I was actually quite surprised he had managed to go so long without saying anything, but I did wonder what had him so pissed. One glance at Sorbet was the only answer I needed. She was ignoring him, doing her best to stand as far away from him as possible without making it obvious to everyone else in the room that she was avoiding him.

"As I understand, the Wind Millennium Gummy is what you need. My son was very interested in the gummy, and there are still some books on it in his old room from before he was sent away. I will have a guard fetch the books, and I hope they will help you on your quest. Please keep in mind that if you fail to defeat Kale, the world as we know it will cease to exist." With that tidbit of information, we went silent.

What was Kale planning? He must be insane or something! A memory floated around in my head, and it was about...Nova? No, not Nova...something else. What could it be? How could I know any of it? Everything was getting so confusing, and I just didn't know who I was anymore. It was like I had been living a lie this whole time, and yet I still couldn't find the whole truth.

A guard appeared as we were leaving and handed us two books, stating, "These were the only ones left behind when the prince left. You may keep them." Then he went back into the palace and I opened one of the books while Lassi went through the second one. I glanced through the admittedly small book, finding only vague mentions of the gummy we were looking for. "Got it!" Lassi declared triumphantly.

I put the book I had in my backpack and we all gathered around Lassi to see what she was pointing to.

_"The Gummy resides in the clouds, and is to be reached only by those that are in tune with nature," _Lassi read aloud. "Sound familiar? That random little piece of land floating near the main planet, I bet that's where we need to go," Lassi continued, snapping the book shut and handing it to me, and I also put this book in my pocket. I nodded in agreement, "Let's go."

~PUFFOON~PUFFOON~

"Who puts an important artifact as far away as possible from civilization!" Pico exploded as we finally climbed to the top of the vine. I rolled my eyes.

"Someone who wants to keep that artifact safe," Sorbet snapped. I glanced at her. She looked really angry. I'd never known her to have such little patience with Pico, and it was starting to make me nervous. Everything was falling apart, and I could only hope this journey would end soon.

"Hey, wait a second! I studied this place! It's called Couscous Ruins! They say time stands still inside, and you'll never know the difference between past, present, and future," Lassi explained, her voice filled with awe. I briefly wondered when she had studied this, and then remembered she had started school here on Puffoon before her parents learned she was a magician and sent her to Will-O-Wisp.

"Let's just...get this over with," Sorbet snapped, and before we could stop her, she marched ahead of us and into the ruins. We chased after her, not wanting to get separated.

~PUFFOON~SORBET~PUFFOON~

The first thing I noticed was that it was dark. Not so dark as Nadia's wild magic spell, but a little darker than a night of a full moon. Maybe as dark as a night with a crescent moon. Gradually, it grew lighter. Before I knew it, I was back in the bustling city on Puffoon. Except, everything was different. The buildings were bigger and more elaborate, but something was wrong. An unnatural fog covered the land, as though elemental darkness had fallen upon the land.

I heard something coming down the street, and looked for a place to hide. Quickly, I ducked into an alleyway, and not a moment too soon. Enigmas rounded the corner, marching through the streets as if they owned the place, completely unafraid. Between them, dragging an unconscious red-haired man, who looked suspiciously like...

"Pico!" I gasped. He didn't seem to hear me, because he didn't look up. The two enigmas disappeared into the mist again, and I silently followed. No way would I let them get away with my friend.

The enigmas made a bee-line for the palace, and I trailed along behind them, always staying out of sight and creeping around like a dark magician. Nadia would be proud. As we drew nearer to the palace, I began to feel confused. Why the palace? Had King Suspiro ordered Pico to be captured and brought to the palace? If so, why? Furthermore, why had enigmas been sent out, instead of the Space Police? It just didn't add up, and my head was beginning to hurt from seemingly chasing theories in circles. Eventually, the enigmas led me to the throne room.

It was not the same as it was before we left.

It was like something straight from a dystopian story. The once grand palace had been reduced to mere rubble. The roof was almost completely gone, allowing the mists to filter through the room like a warning of evil, and not one thing of splendour and glory remained from earlier. The throne was the only thing intact, and a man who was definitely **not **King Suspiro sat there.

The man had piercing dark green eyes with flecks of tiger-eye yellow, making said eyes look strikingly like an exotic gem from somewhere far away. His dark brown hair was wild and unkept, as though he could not be bothered with a brush. He was a handsome man, but there was an aura about him that screamed "evil." To his right stood a boy who looked like a younger version of him, the difference being the boy radiated uncertainty, as though he was uncomfortable with what was happening. To the man's left stood a girl who looked to be the same age as the boy. They were the same height, and had the same color hair. Whereas the boy had the green and golden eyes, the girl had green-blue eyes, and she radiated hatred and disgust towards the man between her and the boy.

'Twins,' Sorbet thought to herself.

"Foolish fire magician. You can not escape judgement. Vala and Odin are the sun and the moon and the stars. They see all," the man sneered, his eyes glinting darkly in the light.

"I told you, I will not go by that deplorable name. I am Valkyrie," the girl hissed. Her eyes were full of loathing and anger, directed towards the man who called her Vala.

"Why do you give us these names that are not our birth names, Father?" the boy demanded. Although his tone was hesitant, there was defiance in his eyes. I sensed he would never stand by and allow such things, and I hoped I wouldn't be proven wrong.

"Your birth names are of no consequence. The names I chose suit you," their father replied dismissively, glancing at the two before returning his gaze to Pico, who was silent and unresponsive as the enigmas held him.

"They are not the names Mother gave us!" Valkyrie hissed, bristling like a cat and moving as though to attack her father. Darkness coiled, responding to her unending anger. Quickly, the boy stepped toward her and placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. She hissed and glared at him, while he simply shook his head. The girl subsided, yet still radiated anger.

"Foolish Fire Mage, you have committed a vast number of crimes against my people and I. You may repent before you die," the man said calmly. Pico looked up at that, those gorgeous green eyes I had fallen in love with burning with unrestrained fury.

Pico spat at the ground at the foot of the man's chair and hissed, "Burn in Hell."

The other man's eyes darkened with fury before he sneered and said, "So be it. Nastasia?" Everyone's eyes flickered to the opening door. I expected to see a girl who was similar in appearance and disposition to the others in the room but instead I saw...

~PUFFOON~LASSI~PUFFOON~

Where was everyone? One minute we were all racing after Sorbet, and the next, I was on a foreign planet all alone. "Sorbet? Pico! Nadia? Chai? ...Anyone?" I called into the dark forest surrounding me. There was no response.

Deciding there was no one around, I figured I should start walking in hopes of finding them and trying to get away. I picked a random direction and started walking. After all, the forest couldn't be that big, right? It shouldn't take long to find my friends, right?

Wrong.

I was walking for, apparently, hours because soon the sky grew lighter as the sun gradually rose on the horizon. I relaxed slightly and breathed a sigh of relief. Soon the sun would rise higher in the sky and the forest would become lighter and more friendly as animals awoke and the unending silence backed off. Except, that didn't happen either. The world did not grow lighter as the sun rose, and no sounds of life filled the forest.

Silence rang through the air, as though the forest was holding its breath and waiting for something to break.

Finally, the silence was broken as a baby's cry split the air, ringing in the silence and calming my nerves a bit. The cries went on, and I moved toward the sound, seeming to be hypnotized by it, but that could have something to do with the fact that it was the only sound in a still, lifeless world. I traced the crying to a clearing. All the trees around the clearing were bending away from the crying bundle on the cold ground, as though trying to escape the child's wails.

I longed to walk into the clearing and pick up the little bundle and hold it close, rocking it until the crying stopped. I wanted to coddle it, make it safe and secure like I used to do with my younger siblings. But something in my head told me that I was not really here, that I was still at Couscous Ruins, the ruins that play with your head and make you see either the past, or a possible version of the future.

Then, out of the dark forest, came a cloaked figure. The black cloak had a hood that covered the face and left the person's face shrouded in shadows. The cloak reached all the way down to the person's ankles, where I noticed a young boy clinging to the person's leg. The little boy also wore a cloak, but his hood was thrown back, revealing an adorable face with round, rosy cheeks, and grey eyes framed by slightly wavy dark brown hair. He didn't look very old; maybe three or four.

My attention was drawn back to the cloaked figure as said person stooped over and picked up the crying baby. The child's cries became quieter, but did not stop completely. The hooded figure glanced around, and called out, "Hello? Is anyone there? Why did you leave this baby girl here?" The voice was feminine, meaning it was most likely a mother. No response came to her question, so she simply turned and began walking back the way she came.

"Mommy, pick me up?" the little boy asked hopefully, looking up at her and being criminally adorable.

The woman shook her head and said, "No, Luke, I must carry your new baby sister home. She can not walk, but you can. You need to be strong for her."

Luke fell silent and stared up at the little bundle. Just as the two were about to disappear from sight, the woman glanced back one last time and the sun flashed on her face, and I gasped, holding my breath as she turned ever so slightly. Just a few more inches, and I would see her face...

~PUFFOON~CHAI~PUFFOON~

"Hello? Mom? Dad?" I called. No response. One minute I was on Puffoon, the next I'm back at our old hut on Gren we lived in before we moved. This was just weird.

I turned and walked out of the house, and found the small salamander population gathered in the center square. That's when I saw my parents.

The two of them stood in the center of the circle, standing protectively in front of a younger version of myself, and my older brother Tai. "You will not harm my sons," my father spoke up.

"Please, spare them! We've already lost our daughter; we don't want to lose our sons as well!" my mother cried, clutching tightly to the younger version of Tai and I. I vaguely remembered this day. The rest of the salamanders found out I could use magic and wanted to either kill me, or send me away. My parents somehow saved me, but Tai, who was four at the time, disappeared. Barely two weeks later, we moved to Kovamaka.

"Your son is a magician, literally a SLURP of nature. There is no SLURP room for freaks in our community. SLURP," one salamander said.

"Send him SLURP away, or we kill him," another spoke up. In my mind, that just wasn't fair. My parents were good citizens, and I'd never hurt anyone, and had no plans to do so unless in self-defense. Why such horrible choices?

"We'll send him away! We'll send him away, just don't kill him, please!" my mother sobbed. The rest of the community muttered to themselves before eventually dispersing, allowing my parents to return to the house with Tai and my younger self in tow.

"Don't worry, darling. They can't tell Chai and Tai apart. We'll send Tai to the palace on Shadra instead of Chai," my father assured my mother. I became confused. What palace on Shadra? What's Shadra? Wait, they're purposely sending Tai away to keep me? Why was life so confusing?

I watched the past sadly. Right now nothing interesting was happening; my parents were just rushing around packing Tai's bags. So I sat down to wait it out.

Finally, midnight rolled around, and there was a gentle knock on the door. My father rushed to answer it. On the other side stood a cloaked figure. The cloak was a dark purple, almost black, and shadows swirled in random patterns around the person. With barely a thought, my father handed the stranger Tai's bags while my mother went to wake Tai.

"Thank you so much for this," my father said quietly. The figure slowly nodded, and then spoke in a light, scratchy voice, "The King of Shadra will not forget this." The way he said it, I couldn't tell if it was said with ill intent or not.

My father bowed low, just as my mother arrived with a sleep-mussed Tai. "Be good to him," my mother begged softly. The figure nodded again, and held out his hand. Reluctantly, my mother released Tai's hand and pushed him towards the shadowed figure.

With two choices open to me, I chose to go with the shadow-man.

The shadow-man...telaported, I guess, because before I knew it, we were somewhere else. We had reached a planet that I didn't recognize; one with a dark sky, but yet flourished beneath the shadows. The ground was soaked, though with what I don't wish to know, and as I looked up, my eyes were greeted by an immense castle built into the land, blending with it naturally.

Slowly, I trailed after the shadow-man and Tai, following them into the palace. We were greeted by a smiling dark-haired man, although his strange eyes had an even stranger glimmer to them. The woman who stood beside him was also smiling, although she seemed much more friendly. Her blond hair was perfectly kept, and her blue-violet eyes shone with love for everything around her.

"Well done. You've brought me the salamander boy; Tai, was it? I would like him to meet my children; the one's he'll be working for. Marie, can you call them for me?" the man asked.

Marie nodded with another smile and called, "My darling children, can you come here for a moment?" A girl came bounding around the corner, her dark hair flying as she ran. She skidded to a stop in front of her parents.

"Yes mother?" she asked breathlessly.

"Valkyrie, where is your brother?" Marie asked, her perfect eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Darren and I were just playing in the gardens. He shouldn't be too far behind," Valkyrie assured her mother.

"And your sister?" the father asked in amusement, his eyes shining fondly as he looked upon his daughter. Valkyrie pouted.

"She was being a slow poke! Darren's probably helping her walk here," she explained.

"Your sister is only two! The both of you must be very careful with her! What if she gets hurt?" Marie fretted. Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

"She's not hurt, Mother! We're coming!" a boy's voice called out. I turned to where the girl had come from, waiting expectantly to see the other two royals...

~PUFFOON~PICO~PUFFOON~

"WHERE THE HELL AM I?" I screamed to the sky. No response. It wasn't like I had expected one, but really? How much worse could this day get? I just felt so mad right now! That same anger came back full force, and, screaming my anger to the skies, I started burning anything I saw. I became even more enraged when it didn't burn right away. How dare these stupid plants defy me! They were mocking me, I swear!

"Calm yourself, young fire magician," someone said, and I spun around. The speaker was a dark-haired girl. Quite a beauty, and I might have been kind of interested if my heart didn't already belong to Sorbet.

"Who are you? Where are we? Why am I here?" I demanded. No time for pleasantries or formalities. Now was the time for brutal honesty. I was sick and tired of these damn secrets and if I didn't get some straight answers soon I just might explode.

"We are...in the land between bodies. And you are here...to recieve a warning...a dire message," the girl said softly, walking forward slightly. I didn't move; no way would I let this girl intimidate me. She stepped even closer, and I could now see her eyes. They glimmered in the light, green-blue and mesmerizing.

"You still haven't told me who you are," I said, suddenly remembering how to speak. For a moment, I had gotten lost in her eyes. They had seemed familiar.

"I am...someone important...someone you can trust," she replied.

I was still uncertain, but allowed her to continue speaking, "For whatever reason, Nadia trusts you. I could have gone to any other of her friends as soon as they entered the ruins, but they all have important things they must see, and Nadia subconsciously didn't want any of them to know. But she seems to think you are trustworthy, and can keep a secret."

I nodded slowly when she paused, indicating she should go on, even though my head was spinning a little.

"You must have noticed by now that Nadia knows things that most girls her age should never know. However, there is an even greater amount of things she does not remember, but it will not stay like that for long. She remembers nothing of her previous life, but when she does, she will return to the Nadia _**I** _knew. You must be prepared for this moment, for the Nadia you know now is not the true Nadia. She remembers nothing. Not me, not Darren, not her father, not her mother. All she knows is her life at the Academy. She is happy. But soon she will return to that **_un_**happy state from before. You must guard her, with your life. She trusts you blindly, because she knows that you are, above all else, loyal. Do not abandon the true Nadia in her time in the Insanity," the girl said softly, her voice never rising above a certain pitch or volume, and then she turned and started to walk away, fading as she walked.

"Wait! Get back here! You have to tell me more about this!" I shouted, racing after her.

The farther I ran, the darker the sky became. Then, I heard people start screaming. No longer concerned with the girl's whereabouts, I ran towards the screams. Then I heard the snarling. The snarls were wild and feral, belonging to an uncivilized beast. I cried out as claws slashed across my arms. The snarls seemed to be drawn to my shouts, because I heard them closer to me. A figure appeared through the mist, walking towards me. The creatures drew back suddenly, leaving me there, bleeding and at this person's mercy. I squinted my eyes as the person drew near, straining to see...

~PUFFOON~NADIA~PUFFOON~

"No! No! Not possible!" I cried, and turned and fled. The screams, the wails, the crying, the agony, the blood, it was all around me. I didn't understand it.

"Help!"

"Someone save me!"

"Mercy, my liege! I beg of you; mercy!"

I was scared. The screaming was all around me, and people were crying out in agony. Blood swam before my eyes, blood splattered the concrete floor below my feet. It was everywhere. I could smell it; it was like iron. I could taste it; the iron tang. It was in my mouth, my nose, I was suffocating.

I tripped.

I screamed as I fell, then hit the ground hard with all the wind knocked out of me. I couldn't breathe. I tried to stand, to keep running, but when I looked around, I was strapped down to a table, white blinding light above me, silhouetting whoever stood over me. The person had a scalpel in their left hand; the scalpel moved closer and closer to me, and I started screaming, thrashing, trying to get free.

"Relax. It'll all be over soon. You're be a perfect specimen when this is over," a voice cooed down at me. It did no good. I screamed louder and continued thrashing. I heard the man above me sigh.

"It's no good; she won't stop screaming and struggling. Darren, bring me a sedative," the man said, turning to whoever stood behind him. I heard the other person walk away, saying, "Yes Father."

Sedative? No! Then I'd be at their mercy, which seemed non-existant.

The other person returned. I screamed and kicked for all I was worth, but it just wasn't enough. I felt the stinging pain of a needle going into my arm, then felt all my body's functions shut down. I fell limp, and just as I started to black out, I saw the faces of my torturer. A man with dark hair, and a boy who didn't look much older than ten. They both watched expressionlessly as I blacked out.

Then my eyes snapped open again.

"Nadia, Nadia! Hurry up; Mother has called for us!" a dark-haired girl called to me, waving frantically. She was very familiar...

"Coming Valkyrie!" I heard myself answering. Then I raced towards the girl, my feet flying over the ground. I reached Valkyrie, and then the two of us ran inside the large mansion. There, we saw a woman pacing nervously. Her blond hair, just like my own, was ruffled, and she looked panicked, horrified even.

"Mother, what is it?" Valkyrie asked.

The woman jumped, spinning around, and relaxing when she saw us, "Oh, Darren and your father disappeared again. I'm worried; the villagers and citizens of Shadra are threatening to overthrow us if we don't do something about the disappearances soon, and your father promised he'd be present for the meeting," the woman replied. Her voice was nearly musical, light in tone even in her worry.

"Would you like us to search, Mother? It would be no troub-"

"NO!" Mother shouted suddenly, startling both Valkyrie and I. She hadn't even let Valkyrie finish the sentence! She composed herself and continued, "I mean, no, my daughters, it's fine. I will look myself." With that said, she walked away, and Valkyrie and I glanced at each other nervously.

Then, as though someone had hit a fast-forward button, we were off, running through the place I now realized was not a mansion, but a castle, and then we were running underground, into a dark tunnel until we reached an even darker room, filled with arcane devices.

In the room stood the other two from the last sequence of dreams. On the table in front of them, was a young woman, passed out completely and strapped down in restraints. In the cells behind the two men, were people. Dark magicians of origin, they reached blindly out of their cages, their cries filling the room with a sad and agonized melody. Blood and death; it was everywhere. Then, in the other cells, I saw creatures mutated beyond recognition. They were also dark, and radiated animosity and hate, much like the enigmas, only they were not speaking. They moaned and howled, their cries joining with those of the humans.

Unlike the enigmas, these creatures had no free will; they were golems.

Next to me, Valkyrie started screaming, her eyes flashing black, her face full of horror. The shadows in the room, and the creatures without souls responded, chaos ensued rapidly. The room started to tear apart right in front of my eyes.

The boy, Darren, ran to me, an arm outstretched; he wanted me to go with them. I stepped away, horrified. Never!

"Nadia! Sweetie, come on! We have to leave, before your sister destroys us all!" Mother shouted, snatching me off the ground and running from the room; when had she gotten there? I looked back. Valkyrie, her dark eyes pleading, she reached out to me. Tears poured down her face.

"Help...me..."

Then the world was enveloped in darkness, moving in on itself, seeming to collapse. It paused like that for a moment, and then exploded outward with a cacophony of sound, deafening those in range.

I screamed...

~PUFFOON~PUFFOON~

"Nadia, wake up!"

I jolted, and let out another scream. My friends flinched and covered their ears. Even Mokka winced a little bit.

I shook my head. Damn; what was that? That was even more confusing than the dreams that attacked me.

"W-what happened?" I stammered, hating my voice for stuttering.

"You, Sorbet, Lassi, Pico, and Chai all fell into a trance as soon as we entered the ruins. I attempted to wake you, but it took me a minute," Mokka explained, his red optic glowing a little too brightly.

"It's the ruins," Lassi said quietly. We all turned to look at her, so she continued, "Couscous Ruins is a place where all times blend together. It messes with your head, trapping you in illusions, mirages, makes you see the past, something painful, something you've forgotten, or shows you a version of the future. This place is evil," she finished, hugging herself slightly and glancing around nervously.

No one else seemed to see it, but I did, and I understood it. Lassi was a rabbit-morph; they were a superstitious people, full of distrust and terrified of almost everything. Lassi was only responding to what she'd been taught, and listening to those instincts engraved in her mind as though passed down from her ancestors.

"So...what we saw...that'll come true?" Sorbet asked quietly, her eyes filled with terror. Hm...that kind of response makes you wonder what she saw that could have terrified her so much.

"Possibly. There are many versions of the future. After all, the future is always changing. There's no way to know for sure. I suggest we move along. We shouldn't stay here any longer than necessary; the demons of the ruins might see fit to play with us again," she warned, her amber eyes darting around as though she expected some grotesque creäture to jump out at her.

Everyone glanced around uneasily, and I instinctively knew: whatever we'd all seen, it had caused some discord among the group. We were all uneasy and no longer seemed to trust each other.

"...Right. Let's move out," I muttered softly, turning and heading deeper into the ruins. My friends slowly and reluctantly followed. The darkness swallowed us whole, and a distinctly evil cackle was left ringing in the room just recently abandoned.

~PUFFOON~PUFFOON~

"We've been all over this place! Not once have I heard a sound except our own footsteps!" Sorbet ranted.

"Shhh! Sorbet, lower your voice! What if the demons here you?" Lassi hissed, eyes wide as she stared at the water magician.

"Oh, face it Lassi! You were wrong; there are no demons, those were just illusions; probably Kale messing with us, and there is absolutely nothing supernatural about this place!" Sorbet shouted. Her voice echoed for a moment, ringing in the room and coming back to us.

Then, the laughter began.

The laughter was not of merriment, nor was it from any of us. It seemed to be coming from everywhere, echoing around us, surrounding us, as though laughter could physically trap us.

It was evil.

"No, no! Be gone evil demons, be gone!" Lassi screamed hysterically, tugging at her ears and falling to the ground as though physically in pain.

Chanting voices rose up all around us, whispering, before slowly growing in volume. The language was impossible to decipher, but the intent was clear; it was a curse.

Then, in front of us...no, that couldn't be possible! A strange, mutant bug formed. Really an ugly thing, although I'd seen uglier. It was very demon-like and believable. A hushed silence fell as the bug stood before us, seemingly just staring, while we stared back in shock, the only sound being the occasional whimper from Lassi, who was curled up on the floor and holding her ears.

"That thing is so damn ugly!" Pico shouted, breaking the silence first. The bug...didn't seem to like that. Suddenly it shot sticky string out at Pico, trapping him in a cocoon. Muffled shouting could be heard from inside.

We all dodged aside as the ugly bug flew at us, only for it to snatch up the cocooned Pico.

"We've got to destroy this thing!" I declared, already starting to cast a spell, only for Sorbet to grab my arm right towards the end.

"Wait! What if we hurt Pico?" she asked, stilling clinging to my arm as the spell reached its peak, ready to be released. I gritted my teeth as the spell started to destabilize. Sorbet refused to let me cast my spell, and it was falling apart.

Unfinished spells can be very dangerous to anyone. Wood and wind magicians had it the easiest, earth was only slightly higher up the scale, then came water, fire, light, and finally dark. For a dark magician, unfinished spells can be nearly fatal. I'd heard a story once of someone who cast the spell Blood Money, but didn't finish it, and the spell ricocheted back, stealing the magician's own health and blood, eating the magician from the inside out until all that was left was a skeleton. The dark magician had been friends with the one who told me the story, and the teller swore that Will-O-Wisp had been closed for almost a month after the "accident". I'd doubted the teller then, but right now I didn't.

Black lightning crackled across my body, starting to engulf me. "Sorbet, let me finish the spell," I snarled, tensing as I felt the power stinging my flesh, burning it in some places and turning it to ice in others.

Sorbet hesitated, her grip on my arm faltering slightly, but still not releasing my arm. Then, the lightning sparking along my arm hit her, jumping into her skin, making her scream and stumble away from me, giving me the room I needed to finish my spell, "Dazzle Darts!"

The spell snapped off, arching through the air, before suddenly slamming into the ugly bug. The bug seemed to flinch. "Nadia! The demons made a light magic based minion. Your powers will be very effective!" Lassi shouted, staggering to her feet and seeming to shake off her fear.

"Is Pico okay, though?" Sorbet asked, her eyes wide with fear.

"He should be fine. The cocoon is ment to ensnare a victim and use the wrapped body as a weapon; it won't hurt him," Lassi explained.

"I hope you're right, Lassi," Chai commented as he stepped forward, then cast his spell, "Briar Patch!"

"Boulder Bash!"

"Hailstorm!"

"Falcon Dive!"

"Dazzle Darts!"

"Briar Patch!"

"Gravel Pounder!"

"Hailstorm!"

"Wind Talon!"

We hammered the ugly bug with spells, not relenting, determined to win and save Pico. The bug kept recoiling, no room to strike back as we hammered it with spells. Finally, it released Pico in one brutal attack. We all cried out as the cocoon hit us, but when it was clear, we were relieved to see Pico back with us. "Now, Nadia! While it's weak!" Lassi shouted.

I brought my hands up, summoning the ultimate power, preparing to burn the symbol in the air so the portal could open, "Zero Joker!" The portal split open without a sound, and the room was shrouded in inky darkness. Slowly the ultimate dark magician came from the portal, those eyeless sockets once again staring into my soul. Then it turned away, and slammed into the ugly bug, using the scythe in it's hand to slice the creature to pieces, before receding back into it's portal, leaving our world.

"Wow...creepy," Pico muttered. There on the ground, as though left as a present for us, was the Wind Millennium Gummy. I scooped up the gummy and turned back to my friends.

"We've got the last gummy. Let's get out of here and head back to Razen, before the demons try something else," Lassi said fearfully, glancing around nervously. We couldn't agree more, and we all high-tailed it out of the ruins with the laughter still ringing in our ears.

* * *

><p>That's that chapter! Sorry it took so long, but this is officially THE longest chapter! Okay people, review, or no update!<p> 


	13. Cybersaurus

Point of view will remain Nadia's this chapter. Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign. This fact makes me sad...

* * *

><p>Chapter 13- Cybersaurus<p>

"The dwarves have requested that we land on the top of Condimen Tower. Can you do that, Mokka?" Sorbet asked, turning to the robot as our ship neared Razen.

"You realize who you are talking to, right, Sorbet? There is absolutely nothing I can't do; nothing," Mokka replied irritably. No one said anything for a moment, simply stared at the robot, before turning back around to whatever function on the rocket they had been dealing with. Mokka seemed disappointed by the lack of attention, and I didn't miss the longing glance he shot me.

I couldn't care less about feelings spared or hurt. There was no time for rest, no time for romance, no time for anything. Finally! This ridiculous oddessy would come to an end and I could do something important, like figure out who I really am. Yes, Eric had told me to forget about it, but who would abandon the search for their past? I knew I might have to take off for a world beyond this one if I wanted to find out who I truly was, but most importantly, I had to find that strange girl. I _**know **_she's got something to do with this, I know it! If I could only find her and ask her in person about all this.

Our rocket landed and we all exited, only to be met by a panicked Grenadine. "Pirate otters have attacked the tower! And the Space Police have some strange new weapon! They'd shoot you down before I could get the rocket in the air, so you go destroy the weapon while I update your rocket!" The way he said it left no room for argument, and he ran off before we could argue anyway. Besides, we could not leave the dwarves to die.

All six of us took the elevator down and arrived on the first floor. Outside, we could see the huge groups of otters trying to break in while the dwarves struggled to hold the doors closed. We were all dismayed by this turn of events.

"We'll never get past them all!" Lassi wailed, tugging worriedly on one of her floppy ears as her wide amber eyes darted around as though looking for an escape route as her instinctual panicky nature began to set in. Of course, there was no escape route. Sorbet looked grim, as though she believed this to be the end. Pico's anger was kicking in, and he looked ready to explode. Chai looked kind of scared, and Mokka was emotionless, as usual.

I thought about the dilemma for a while. There had to be a way to win...if only we had more help! Perhaps the answers didn't lie in the present, but in the past? But that makes no sense! How could the answer be in a past I couldn't even remember? "Damn it!" I muttered to myself, grabbing my blond locks and tugging on them in frustration. Why couldn't everything be simple?

_"Daddy, can I look at the book?"_

_"Sure, sweetie. You might be able to master this spell here, little one." _

_"What's it called, Daddy, what's it do? Did sissy master it too?"_

_"No, honey, I didn't show your sister this book. Why?"_

_"No reason! Explain me my spell!"_

_"Demon Protector. Summons a creäture of the night to destroy your enemies and guard your path. It watches over you wherever you go and will never leave you. It's loyal to you and you alone."_

_"Daddy, does the Demon love me?"_

_"...What?"_

_"Does the Demon love me?"_

_"Uh...sure. Let's learn the spell, okay Nadia?"_

_"Okay Daddy!"_

_"Obumbrata viis nostris pessimis ima videmus. _Malum inter se colliso, cum nostris obumbrata vias et unit duas vitas in saecula. Amicus fidelis custos est alligata anima una, nec distrahi potest. Surge fidem meam, Surgite!"* I had no idea what I was saying. It was foreign and strange to me, yet it sounded so familiar. The spell was from the memory fragment, from something of my past, of so very long ago.

"N-Nadia?" Pico asked fearfully, taking a step back along with everyone else as the air around me warped, forming something else. Something not of this world, but something that had been there all along, watching out for me and keeping me safe. It was a creäture that guarded my every step and treaded the same path carefully behind me.

In front of me, a vague shadowy shape formed into something real. It stood on hind legs, and had two dog heads with saliva dripping out of its mouths and sharp fangs that gleamed in the dull light. Glowing green eyes seemed to stare into the soul, they were full of wisdom and something else...something I couldn't quite place. What would have been front paws looked more like a T-Rex's arms with the disproportioned way they were. The creäture only came up to about my waist, but the size didn't seem to matter, I automatically knew this beast was vicious and violent.

It was my Demon Protector, I realized as it locked its eyes on me and seemed to smile. It stepped towards me, the tongues on both heads lolling like that of a faithful canine. It meant me no harm, only harm on my enemies. One head nuzzled into one of my hands, which were limp at my side, while the other head growled at the door where the pirate otters were still trying to break in.

"Nadiaaaa...Protectttt..." One head growled.

"Destroyyyy...Piratessss..." The other agreed.

I couldn't say a word; didn't want to say a word, nor did I want to stop them as the Demon Protector with one body and two heads raced towards the doors at the front of the tower, proceeded to break them down, and tear into the pirate otters outside.

"Nadia, what the hell is going on?" Sorbet screamed hysterically. Her composure had snapped, leaving her mind state fragile and breakable, considering that she'd just seen something that, for all intents and purposes, should have been impossible, and yet I had brought forth an impossible demon.

Pico stepped forward and laid a calming hand on her shoulder, gripping it tightly. His eyes were dark, mysterious, he seemed to know more about this then even I knew. "Just stay calm! This...spell...isn't what's important right now! We need to concentrate on defeating the pirates, getting to Nova, and freeing our teacher! Look, the creäture just gave us a way out, so let's get moving!" he urged, pushing Sorbet towards the door, effectively changing the subject. Pico gave me a thumbs up and a grin as he passed, as though to say, 'it's all good, Nadia!'

Lassi nodded eagerly and declared, "Pico's right; we need to take advantage of the opening! Let's move!" She ushered Chai and Mokka along, shooting me a grin as she walked past me, and I smiled back weakly.

I'd never felt so thankful that Pico and Lassi had my back.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

"So, Detective this...Cybersaurus...is the ultimate weapon?" Pico asked as we walked into town and talked to our old friend. Detective Beignet nodded quickly.

"Yes, the Space Police caught a wandering dinosaur and turned it into a cyborg so they could control it," he explained as he led us to the edge of town. "You must defeat it! They've built this thing to stop you; they'll do whatever it takes to keep you from reaching Nova!" he continued, and then rushed back the way he came to hold back the masses patrolling around.

"Come on, let's get this over with!" I muttered, stomping forward. My friends eagerly rushed after me. Pico was practically running in front of me. Clearly he was ready for a fight. As we ran, my eyes fell on a warden, who sat in front of a little machine that looked like a controller for the giant beast in front of him. I eyed the controller as we approached. If that was destroyed, would the beast stop, or go on a rampage?

"Nadia, watch out!" Chai shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts, and I looked up just in time to see the beast's teeth coming towards me. I hit the ground and rolled to the left, watching in shocked horror as a large crater was left in the ground where I was once standing.

"How are we supposed to defeat this thing?' Lassi shrieked as she dodged an attack from the beast's tail.

"Don't look at me! It's probably a fire-based creäture, and I won't be very helpful if it is!" Chai snapped as he helped Lassi to her feet. The rabit-morph dusted herself off, irritation evident on her face as she glared up at the beast.

"Then I can take care of it!" Sorbet declared, her voice confident as she stepped forward and raised her hands above her head. Her confidence was short-lived, however, when after she'd cast her spell, the beast simply shook itself and attacked Sorbet, smacking her as hard as it could with its tail.

Sorbet screamed, and then it was cut off as she hit a wall with a sickening thud. "No!" Pico roared, rage filling his bright green eyes as he turned on the beast. "Dragon's Tongue!" Pico was consumed by the flames of his magic, and in a flash of bright orange light, the fire cleared, and Pico was gone, leaving only a red dragon hovering in the air in front of the Cybersaurus.

Lassi rushed to Sorbet even as Pico was attacking the beast, and Chai followed her, while Mokka and I stood ready to assit Pico should he need the help.

I was amazed by the fire magician's power. Never before had I seen anything like this, not even among the fire mage teachers at school. Granted, I hadn't seen many, as they liked to separate the elements most of the time, but still, in that moment I believed Pico was probably one of the strongest fire magicians in the whole solar system.

My amazement was short-lived when Dragon-Pico was knocked to the ground, and his aura fizzled out of existance, leaving him lying there, groaning in pain from the adrenaline and power rush, and also from the sheer strength of the hit.

"Mokka, check on Pico, I'll hold the beast off!" I shouted, leaping forward before Mokka could say anything at all. I sensed him hesitate, but he didn't protest, so I assumed he was tending to Pico even as I began my spell. "Dazzle Darts!"

The dark dart formed, the shadows seeming to spark off of the dart before it slammed into the Cybersaurus. The beast let out a low growl, stumbling back and shaking its head, as though confused, and then it was moving forward again, its teeth coming for me. Once again I rolled to the side and hopped back to my feet. Before the huge beast could turn around, I was casting another spell, "Zero Joker!"

That same power from before, its numb mind overcame my own, and the dark portal symbol was burning in the air, splitting open silently, and black flames curled out even as the giant reaper came, his dark eyes falling on the victim. The air seemed to get colder, so cold it burned my lungs to breathe, and then that black scythe came forward, and sliced right through the Cybersaurus, killing the creäture and freeing it from the control of the Space Police. Those soulless black eye sockets once again turned toward me, and I felt as though this time a little part of my soul slipped away with the Grim Reaper as he retreated back through the portal, taking the warden, kicking and screaming, with him.

~RAZEN~RAZEN~

As we went back to Paella, town of the potfolk, we stopped at what we saw. The troopers were gone, the town abandoned, and I was instantly on my guard, so were Pico and Sorbet, Chai looked around nervously, Mokka was scanning the area, and Lassi was tugging on another one of her ears in distress.

Then, the detective came running on scene, shouting, "Run, kids, run! Beak Fowler is coming!" I was confused about who this Beak Fowler was, but then the guy also came into the town. He was in fact a chicken, but his presence was still intimidating.

"So, these are the children you betrayed us for? The very same children who defeated Mudflap, Muzzleflash, and Abalon Demar? Hm, interesting, buck buck..." he even squawked like a chicken. However, there was not a doubt in my mind that he was powerful. I saw him moving, tensed to defend against the attack, and time seemed to slow. The red-hot blast was moving towards us, blinding us as it came, and my friends also tensed, even as Detective Beignet jumped in the way, and took the full brunt of the hit. We watched in horror as the blast burned him, his armor like nothing as the magical attack tore through it.

We turned back to Beak Fowler, as he was readying for another attack, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw a pink heart-shaped saucer flying towards us. I felt my heart sink, but instead of coming at us, Brie Pourri attacked Fowler, charged at our huddled group, and used her wind magic to teleport us away, back to Condimen Tower.

When we got there, I rounded on Brie Pourri, my eyes filled with anger and confusion, and she met my gaze steadily. "I'll hold them back as long as I can. You six need to get to Nova. And Nadia...your Demon Protector? I'm impressed. I thought you knew nothing. Good luck, to all of you." Then she turned and raced back towards the small town, leaving me feeling puzzled. Why did everyone else seem to know more about my own past than even I did?

"Nadia, let's go!" Chai said urgently, tugging on my arm. We raced into Condimen Tower, heading for the top. The dwarf hang-out was eerily quiet, practically deserted, and I hated it. This place should be loud and full of life, not quiet and empty. In my mind, I knew it made sense that they had evacuated, but still, it wasn't right! Right then, all I wanted to do was break down and cry. I wanted to cry and scream my pain to the universe, demand why all this was happening. So many lives lost and uprooted, the Resistance against Kale so small. Why? Why us, why now? Just why? I had no more time to contemplate it.

When we reached the top floor where Grenadine was with our rocket, his eyes met mine, and understanding passed between us. He was sad that our generation was fighting to right the mistakes made by generations before us. I nodded to him, and he nodded back, before ushering us onto Neumann.

The rocket roared to life as soon as the door was closed, and then we were blasting out of Razen's atmosphere, heading for the sun a short distance away. As we entered its field, the rocket began to tremble and make sounds that sounded more like a malfunction than anything. I could only hope Grenadine had done the job right as our rocket was consumed by the bright light of our sun.

* * *

><p>Viola! Chapter 13! Whew! Sorry it took so long, all you who waited oh so patiently. What did you think of the little twists I added, and the cliffhanger at the end? Tell me in a review!<p>

*Translation: Below the earth we see the evil of our shadowed ways. The evil collides with our shadowed ways and unites two lives forever. A loyal companion guard tied to one soul, never to be torn apart. Arise my faith, Arise!

REVIEW! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! I'm a zombie that needs reviews to survive!


	14. Nova

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I was having some writer's block, and I've got AP Biology summer work...bleh.

Anyway, there will be some changing POV in this chapter too, so pay attention to the page breaks again!

Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign. This fact makes me sad...

* * *

><p>Chapter 14- Nova<p>

As the bright light faded from my retinas, I finally caught my first glimpse of the Light Planet. It shone like a beacon of hope, and most would be in awe of this glittering planet, but, not me. As a dark magician, in my eyes, the Light Planet was not a thing of beauty, but a thing that stood for all that would oppose me, all that I had to fight, all that would destroy me.

Besides, just because it looked beautiful, that didn't mean it didn't hide something darker than what might be in my own forgotten memories. No matter how beautiful the surface was, there was always something dark and ugly hidden beneath. That seemed like a legitimate idea. Although, where it came from, I didn't have a clue.

"Wow, this place is just amazing, right Nadia?" Lassi exclaimed eagerly as the rocket landed. Before I could reply, everyone was already out of the rocket and off to explore the planet. I sighed and reluctantly followed, even though I had a bad feeling about this.

"Hm, yeah, great," I muttered. My heart wasn't in it, and my mind was elsewhere. I tried to shake it off, but I couldn't bring myself to like this planet...at all. Here, I was weak. Even during the night, this place would be bright. I could never reach my full magical potential here.

_"But you could reach it elsewhere, Nadia..." _

I snapped my head up, looking around frantically for whoever just said that. Seeing no one, not even my friends, I tried to ignore it, shaking my head. "Great Nadia, now you're hearing things," I muttered to myself. Silence reigned supreme, as though the world was holding its breath. "And now you're talking to yourself. Could this day get any better?" I said aloud, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

_"You're not losing your mind, if that's what your thinking." _When I snapped my head toward the voice, my jaw dropped. In front of me, stood a boy who looked a few years older than me, with dark brown hair and green-yellow eyes. The boy from my nightmares! Except...he seemed to be a ghost.

_"I know what this looks like. I look like a ghost. But I'm not actually dead. I'm projecting my mind over the astral plane to reach your mind, so you can hear and see me. Look, I haven't got much time. I came to give you some answers for some of the questions you might have...You do have questions, don't you?" _At my nod, he continued on, _"Okay, first things first, I'm Darren. That's all you need to know about me. Second, you remember that girl, Cassie, right, and her brother, Eric?" _Once again, I nodded, too shocked to speak. This was downright freaky. And where were my friends?!

_"Well, Eric might be dead, but Cassie is still out there, and she knows more about you than you know about you, and she hates you for it. So be ready for her to come and attack you. You have to win, because I'll be honest, Cassie is well and truly insane, and if she wins, she's going to try to take over the world."_

Here, I chose to interrupt, "While these are all _**great **_things to know, you're not really answering all the questions I WANT answered!" Really, if you're going to give me information, give me the stuff I want to know!

Darren continued on as though I hadn't spoken, _"Last, you need to know how important you are, to the world. So, when you get to the other planet in the sun, when you get **home, **be prepared for just about anything. Oh, and don't try to look for me and demand more answers. Somehow I doubt you'll ever find me. Good luck, Nadia."_ And then his ghostly form was gone, as though it had never been there...which, it probably hadn't, if I thought about it. Although Darren irritated me since he didn't answer the rest of the questions I wanted to know.

Some...delusional part of me, trusted him. Something inside told me he had my best interests at heart. I was always one to follow my instincts, because the instincts of a dark magician often save their lives. But those same instincts often lead down the path of evil. I was determined to not follow in my ancestor's footsteps.

"Nadia! There you are! Come on, we've learned our next step!" Lassi shouted as she came racing back toward me. However, she skidded to a stop and studied me closely. "Are you alright, Nadia?" she finally asked after staring at me for a moment. I shook off my gloomy thoughts and managed to smile brightly at my best friend.

"Fine, Lassi. I'm just fine. Let's get going. You can fill me in on the way."

~NOVA~NOVA~

"So, let me get this straight, there's another planet in the sun?" I asked, surprised. It was like they were quoting Darren, but I knew for a fact that they hadn't seen or heard him. Darren had sent that message specifically to me, he'd addressed me by name, and if there was one thing I knew about astral projection, it was that only the receiver could see the sent message.

"Well, they said something about Shadra being like...the other side of Nova. Like, the dark side of the sun," Chai explained. I stared at him incredulously.

"Uh-huh. And to get to the 'dark side of the sun', we have to jump down this hole?" I asked. I still wasn't buying it; it sounded ridiculous, even after everything Darren told me. Phunnel Pit. Huh. I guess the name did kind of suit it, but jumping down a hole seemed very...iffy. Shouldn't there be a bridge or something?

"Don't jump down there! The bridge was destroyed! If you want to get to Shadra now, you have to go to Luminite Palace and ask the queen!" someone shouted. We spun around, and saw a dwarf standing some ways away. How did he get here?

"Who destroyed it?" Pico asked out of curiosity.

"I did." That voice! It chilled me to the core and at the same time enraged me. That maniac nearly tore us apart! Damn it, I thought she was gone. Although, Darren did say she was still out there...

"Cassie," I stated coolly, not letting my emotions through. I was terrified of her, but at the same time I wanted to kill her. Well, one or the other would happen now, wouldn't it? The psychopath could be reunited with her dead brother, because there was no way I would let her walk all over us, kill us, or take over the world, because I was going to save the world, damn it! If only to atone for any sins from my past.

No, that wasn't it. I...want to be a hero. Sins or not, that was in the past, and I was here in the present. I had a chance to rise above the stereotype of dark magicians and be an actual hero, and that chance was not going to pass me by!

"Well, I can see the determination in your eyes. Hm, tell you what. We'll make a deal. You give me your little salamander friend," she began, and then her hands started glowing, a giant black gun forming in the air in front of us. My eyes widened in shock. What spell was that? "And I'll play the game your way. I'll let the rest of you live and move on to go save the world. I'll leave the whole solar system alone, if I can just have Chai." She was grinning evilly, her eyes glinting with a devious light. She...what? My left eye began to twitch.

She...wanted...Chai? She wanted to steal one of my best friends? The first friend I'd ever had!? Words came back to me from that strange girl...

_"The answer yes to avoid death, the answer no would make it...Beware Cassie."_

Understanding dawned on me, and then I grinned. Well, looked like I'd be meeting her soon. "Not gonna happen, Cassie. No way." Cassie's victorious smirk disappeared, and the girl screamed in rage.

"Killing Gun!"

Something came over me, my limbs moved without my approval, coming up in front of me instinctively, and I shouted out, "Hellish Vortex!" A portal opened in front of me, swirling black and purple, screams and wails coming forth from it. The blast from the black gun disappeared into the portal, before it snapped shut.

The look of rage on her face quickly turned to horror as I grinned evilly. My mind was becoming fogged. All I knew was that this girl had just threatened someone important, and that she must suffer. "Zero Joker!" Another portal opened, and then the ultimate dark magician himself came through it, his scythe closing in on Cassie.

"Alteration!" Cassie shouted, holding out her hand toward him. His eyes flashed, turning white, and then he turned on me.

"Huh?!" I shouted as the Grim Reaper loomed over me, and then his scythe swung downwards. I screamed as the blade slammed into me, knocking me away from my friends. My back hit the ground, I felt it skid across the ground, heard the tearing of fabric, felt old wounds open up, and I cried out in pain. The pain shooting through me instantly caused the fog in my mind to clear.

"Nadia!" I heard someone cry out, but I could barely open my eyes, I was in that much pain. I was certain when I was thrown across the ground that all of those old scars from the living nightmares had just been ripped open.

"Prepare to die," I heard Cassie say, and when I forced my eyes open, I saw her looming over me, her hands glowing again. I winced, closing my eyes and preparing for the killing blow. "Kill-"

"No! Cactus Crush!" Before Cassie could fire the dark gun again, three giant cacti fell on her head, crushing her, impaling her on the spikes. When I managed to open my eyes again, the first thing I saw was Cassie's broken body lying limply on the ground, her neck tilted at an odd angle, her eyes glazed, and blood pouring from multiple wounds. Then Chai's face came into view.

"Nadia? You okay?" he asked, his eyes full of concern. I managed a nod, and then he was hauling me to my feet. When I was standing, I heard a gasp, and glanced around.

Lassi had a horrified look on her face and was covering her mouth with both paws in shock. I flinched. Damn, was it that bad? "Whoa...Sick," Pico breathed. He was standing behind Lassi, and had caught sight of all the blood on my back.

"...Nadia?" Sorbet asked, and when I glanced at her there was a confused look on her face. Right about now, I really wished the ground would just swallow me whole. I had never wanted the rest of my friends to know about the scars, about the attacks, about the nightmares...it was my problem and I didn't want the others sticking their noses in my business, trying to help, when all they would do was make it worse.

"Oh, gosh, Nadia, that was quite a fall if it ripped your back open like that, and there's a lot of blood. We should get you patched up," Lassi babbled, rushing toward me, waving her arms around frantically. She was trying to cover up the fact that all of my scars had been ripped open, or that I had scars at all.

"No excuses, you two. We want the truth; now," Pico snapped. His eyes glowed with determination, and I flinched. Damn it, I'd never be able to get away from it now. When Pico got that look on his face, nothing was going to go my way.

"What are you talking about? We're not making excuses! Why would you say that? Eh, haha..." Lassi laughed nervously, unconsciously starting to tug on one of her ears.

"Lassi, enough. No more lies or excuses. It's over. Let's just tell them," I said with a sigh. Lassi sighed in defeat, dropping her ear, although she looked slightly relieved, as though keeping this secret had been eating her alive. There was an awkward silence, and Pico had his arms crossed, not giving an inch about his opinion.

Then, surprisingly, Sorbet spoke up, "Look, obviously you had your reasons, and got your secrets. We can just forget it for now, because, quite frankly, the universe needs us more, but I expect an explanation later." Pico looked at the water magician in shock, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"But, Sorbet-!"

"Shut up, Pico! We've got a universe to save!" she snapped at him, and then stalked off, simmering with rage. I'd never seen her so mad...was she still holding a grudge about the thing with Cassie? Why? He'd made an honest mistake, and she'd readily forgiven Mokka and Chai...then understanding dawned on me, and I could have slapped myself in the face for my stupidity. Sorbet liked Pico! And liking someone and forgiving them for something like what Pico did was very different than forgiving two friends for something like that.

With that understanding, Lassi and I followed after Sorbet, Mokka, and Chai, with a very confused Pico bringing up the rear.

~NOVA~NOVA~

"Okay, so if they're not letting us in, how are we getting in?" Lassi asked, not looking too happy. I just shrugged in response. I didn't want any of us blowing the doors down because that would be seen as a sign of aggression and I didn't want to make enemies with light magicians on the light planet.

"Perhaps we can be of assistance?" a familiar voice offered, and I spun around to see the dwarves and Spiney Moles walking toward us. I grinned when I spotted King Gorgonzola in the lead.

"Lemme guess. You're going to dig us a tunnel that leads up into the palace so we can get some help?" I said, crossing my arms, but the grin didn't leave my face. It was actually a good idea. It was simple, straightforward, and would be easy to execute.

"Precisely my dear! My, you're quite intelligent!" King Gorgonzola exclaimed, while Minister Munster nodded vigorously. "This will only take a moment!" Then the king was off, tunnelling underground and toward the castle.

Grenadine walked forward and I vaguely wondered what had happened at Condimen Tower when he began to speak, "Now Nadia, when you get in the palace, find the queen and ask her about a portal to Shadra, the dark planet. She'll tell you everything." I shuddered when he said Shadra...would we encounter the King of Shadra? And, was that what Darren meant by dark side of the sun? Shadra?

Before I could ask any questions, Gorgonzola was back, jumping out of the hole he had dug and then scurried over to us, ushering us to climb down the ladder his subjects were dropping down there. "Good luck, Heroes Nadia and Lassi! We'll be right behind you!" So with a grateful smile, I climbed down the ladder and my friends followed. It was a straight shot through the tunnel, and we climbed up the ladder on the other side, entering the elaborate, shining palace. The colors were light and cheerful, and the walls, floors, and ceiling seemed to glow or shimmer.

"Nadia, let's find the queen," Sorbet urged as she started walking away, going up the steps near where we'd entered, and we quickly followed her. She was just ahead of us, poking her head into each door, searching for the Throne Room. Finally, she exclaimed, "Ah-ha!" when she came to the third door and entered. The rest of us entered as well and walked toward the royal chair. There was no one sitting in it, but a luminite stood next to it.

"Welcome, chosen ones. We have been waiting for you, for a long, long time," it said. Was it a boy or a girl? I couldn't tell. Could anyone tell? ...Would it be rude to ask what gender it was? ...Maybe luminites didn't have genders...

"The Queen, before she passed, instructed us to open the portal to Shadra for you. Though I strongly advise against it, we will honor her last wish. Please, follow me. I will lead you to the portal, where we have luminites awaiting to help unlock the seven seals," it continued, and then...walked towards the door. Could that be considered walking? It looked like the thing was floating, not walking. Whatever, though. I tried to shake the scattered thoughts from my mind as we followed the luminite out of the room.

"Nadia." As soon as we walked out the door, I heard my name and turned toward the voice. Durum and Farina were walking towards us. How they had gotten here, I wasn't sure, but I didn't much care.

"We want to help," Durum announced without preamble, and I arched an eyebrow. I wasn't quite sure what to say about that. He still seemed to be grieving over Semolina, and someone blinded by grief would be of no help...that and I didn't much want them with us anyway. I didn't trust them at all.

"Durum, there's nothing you can do. We're honored by your offer, really, but it's not necessary," Sorbet said, stepping forward to take control of the situation. I could always count on her to keep a cool head. Then my gaze flicked to Pico, and I quickly mended that thought. Almost always. Wherever Pico was concerned, Sorbet could not keep her cool.

Durum and Farina exchanged a quick glance and I gazed at them suspiciously, before Durum spoke again, effectively diverting my attention, "Very well. Then we shall support you from the shadows. Come, Farina. Let us leave." Then the two felins left, and we continued on our way.

~NOVA~NADIA~NOVA~

"Each element has a different section of the portal to activate. A luminite will take care of the light section. The rest of you must deal with the other seals," the luminite who led us to a large room under the rest of the palace explained. Six luminites floated in front of us, each tainted a different color than the normal glittering white.

"Simply follow the proper color to your element room," the luminite continued, and then nudged us towards the other luminites. I hissed when it touched me, my pale skin easily burned by the light-powered luminite. The luminite quickly moved away from me with a quiet sorry, and I internally snarled to myself as I followed the purple/black stained luminite. It led me to a room off to one side, with a pot in the center, tall luminites against the wall that held skulls in their hands, and a mirror on the wall between the two tall luminites.

"Your wild magic spell," the luminite in the doorway suggested quietly before finally shutting the door and leaving the room, which made sense because my dark spell would probably hurt the luminite. Dark colored or not, the thing probably was a light magician.

I took a deep breath, held up my hands and began to chant, "Dark night! Hear my cry! Lend me your strength! Come again, envelop the world, and darken the sun!" The shadows gathered, and the dark orb formed. Despite the lack of shadows and darkness on this planet, I felt as they expanded, and there was a small explosion as the dark seal was destroyed. I was knocked to the ground as the shadows suddenly escaped my control, going wild all over the room before settling into the mirror, turning it black. Laughter filled the air, and I sat upright, staring at the scene playing out before me.

A woman sat on the throne in the room above where I currently resided. She was not beautiful though, in fact, the exact opposite. She looked like a horrible witch. A young, not bent-at-the-back witch, but a witch nonetheless. Her nose was crooked and her face had the occasional wart.

Before her was a young man. He had dark brown hair, and when he looked up at her, his green and yellow eyes glimmered dangerously. He was a force not to underestimate.

"I seek your daughter's hand in marriage," he stated with a sly smirk. His voice was melodious and smooth, like music, and the woman who sat before him, the woman who must be the queen, laughed.

"You want Marie? Funny, considering how hideous she is, and the fact that she's the heir to Nova, while you're the Prince of Shadra." The woman stood up and walked toward the young man, who only looked to be in his late teens. She walked a circle around him, studying him up and down. "Exact opposites, and yet, you seek to marry her. Your mortal enemy, and still you say you love her? What a fool you are, young Prince," the Queen of Nova laughed harshly, and it was a horrible ugly sound, the exact opposite of the young Prince before her.

The Prince, surprisingly, was not upset, he simply glanced up at the Queen and smirked, stating, "She is everything I am not, and everything I wish to be. Light and Dark need not be enemies. Our marriage would unite our two warring planets, and bring peace everywhere. But, how could you ever understand? Your soul is as ugly as the old Shadra Witch saw when she placed the curse on you."

The woman let out a shriek of outrage, but before anything could happen, the doors near the back of the room were flung open, and a beautiful young woman entered. Her long blond hair flowed as she walked, and every step was graceful. Her light pink eyes were full of an innocent joy. She walked over and stepped in front of the Queen, facing the Prince of Shadra.

"I accept your request for marriage," she said quietly, and then gave a small, genuine smile. The Prince beamed an award-winning smile at her as he took one of her hands and went to one knee with a bow.

"Prince Vance of Shadra, at your service, malady," he said as he looked up at her with a wink, causing her to blush slightly and giggle.

"Marie, you can't be serious! Marrying this hooligan? I won't allow it!" the queen shrieked again, her cold, black eyes blazing with a cruel fury. Something told me she was jealous of young Marie. Jealous of her beauty and her kindness, probably jealous of everything about her.

An annoyed expression crossed Marie's face as she snapped back, "Mother, please! I will not listen to your inane babble anymore. Your sanity has become questionable, and according to Nova law, a child will no longer have to listen to their parents should their kindness and/or sanity be questioned. I'll leave you to live out your miserable life now." With that said, Marie turned and walked away, hand in hand with Vance.

Unseen to those in the room, a wicked grin spread across Vance's face, and I swear it was his thoughts I was hearing, _'Once I'm married to her, I will become King of Shadra! And once I have my heirs, we will rule the whole solar system!'_

~NOVA~PICO~NOVA~

After I'd cast my wild magic spell, the whole room turned red, and when the light faded away, I was no longer in the palace on Nova. I was back on Razen, in a quaint little hut built into the super heated rocks. Was this...was this where my parents had used to live?

"You've become insane! How could you do this? He's your son, Penny!" I heard my father's booming voice, and I moved toward the sound, entering the room near the back of the small hut. There, stood my father, with a crying child in his arms, who I assumed was a younger version of myself. I mean, the baby had wild red hair and green eyes, so it had to be me, right? And the man was obviously my father, he looked exactly the same, all muscular and kind of scary, but with less grey in his fiery red hair, and his beard.

Then, my gaze went to the woman on the floor. She had wild blond hair hanging in her face and sticking up in some places. She was small, and seemed kind of delicate, but when she laughed, it was insane, and I knew she wasn't all there. Her limbs were long, and she was reaching for the smaller version of myself, still laughing. When I saw her green eyes, I knew. She was my mother.

"Oh, silly Monty, don't you understand? I'm doing this for the greater good! He's a little monster, a devil! He must be destroyed!" she shrieked as her hand reached out for something on the rocky floor, and when she found it, she lunged toward the younger version of my father and myself. I saw the flash of the knife in her hand, and she let out a blood-curdling scream, her eyes wild and far too bright.

There was a flash of bright red light as my dad shot out an open palm and shouted, "Afterburner!" My mother's scream of rage turned into a scream of pain as the flames consumed her, and then the whole house caught fire as my father high-tailed it out of the building, and I followed.

My father simply watched, holding the small me in his arms and rocking the baby gently. It, er, I looked up at him with watery eyes brimming with tears. He forced a smile to his face as he whispered, "Come on, Pico, my little fire mage. Let's go start over."

Then he turned and walked away. He didn't look back.

As I turned to watch the house burn, I noticed it was gone, and then I noticed everything else was gone, and that same girl from before stood before me. Her eyes seemed to stare right through me as she said in a monotone voice, "Your roots were as shaky and tentative as Nadia's. You and her are much alike. Guard her with your life, and she in turn with aid you in your time of need. I promise you, it will be necessary, for very soon, evil will rise. Friends will flock to you, and enemies will rise against you. Good luck, young fire mage." Then she too turned to walk away, and when I opened my eyes again, another, more familiar, scene was playing like a movie before my eyes.

~NOVA~CHAI~NOVA~

I was trapped in a nightmare. One minute, I was on Nova, the next, I had no idea where I was. Monsters were before my eyes, people were crying and screaming, everything was full of shadows. Never before had I feared the dark, but suddenly it held new monsters and I had reason to fear it.

I kept running, and then suddenly ran into a wall. I fell back and landed on my tail, but I ignored the pain to jump back to my feet and attempt to run back the way I came, only to run into cage bars. "No! Let me out!" I screamed, shaking the bars desperately, wanting them to simply collapse so I could get away from the nightmares.

I had no idea where I was, it was no planet I knew of. It was a mix of fire and mountainous earth, filled with shadows and fog. "Darren, my son, have you found your troublesome twin?" a man's voice boomed, echoing through the realm, and I automatically shrunk back at how terrifying it is.

"There's nothing to find, father. She is surely dead after that explosion!" another voice replied, this one softer, timid, and if he really thought about it, the voice was probably a really good singer. He wouldn't mind hearing the voice sing, and why was his mind wandering like that? ...Maybe the fog wasn't fog, but some kind of drug.

"Silence! Do not suggest such things! Marie survived! Your little sister survived! Why wouldn't your twin survive?" the older man boomed, and I flinched again. Man, I'd hate if that guy was my father. "Find them and bring them to the underworld! I wish to begin my conquest of the universe!"

"The Underworld?" I gasped, looking around with wide eyes. There was silence around me for a moment, as though I'd been heard when I spoke, and then a figure came into view. A boy with wild dark hair and green-yellow eyes and perfectly tanned skin gazed at me with shock, and then quickly glanced around.

"You shouldn't be here. You need to go back; now," that musical voice said, and my eyes widened, even as the boy's hand started glowing a pure light. He reached out and touched my head, saying, "Astral Rejection." Then I was consumed by the light.

~NOVA~NADIA~NOVA~

I waited impatiently for my friends to return. Perhaps if we worked together we could decipher some of these visions. But, we couldn't do that if they didn't show up! Where were they? "Nadia," I heard Mokka say, and despite the recognition of his voice, I jumped a foot in the air.

"Mokka! Don't scare me like that," I scolded, turning towards him with a scowl and my hands on my hips. Once again, he was emotionless, and it was unnerving that he seemed to be staring at me, especially considering I knew he liked me...which was awkward. How could a robot feel love anyway? That didn't make sense at all. He'd always said he didn't understand or feel emotions so why did he claim to love me, when love was the most complex emotion of them all.

"Scaring you was not my intention," he replied in a monotone voice, and then fell silent.

I hesitated for a moment before deciding to ask, "Mokka, while you were with your element, did you have any...strange visions?" Mokka looked at me, and I had no idea what he was thinking or what he was going to say. The way he was looking at me made me want to kick myself. Why would I assume that anyone other than me had any visions? The only other person I could think of who might have the visions was Lassi...maybe.

"My optic sensors all mirages that play tricks on your delicate human eyes," he finally replied, and then turned away, not saying another word. Which was strange. Mokka had always been a robot of few words, but he'd never been rude to me like this before. Was he mad at me? Mad I hadn't returned his feelings? That made no sense, but just in case I didn't make any other attempt to speak to him.

The awkward silence thankfully passed quickly when Chai and Pico rushed on scene, chattering away. "Nadia! Mokka! You won't believe it!" Chai began, his eyes shining with excitement.

"We had visions! Like, freaky weird visions! But we think we, or specifically you with all your apparent experience, can decipher them!" Pico continued, also seeming very excited. He'd sounded a little bitter about the "experience with visions" part, but it quickly passed in light of these events. I was quickly swooped up in the excitement, grinning from ear to ear as I demanded they tell me their visions before I would tell them mine.

"There was this boy, in mine, he had dark crazy hair and these awesome green-yellow eyes and then there was this scary voice and it said something about the Underworld and I was like what and then the boy came over and said I shouldn't be here and then he sent me away with this weird light spell. I think it was Astral Rejection? What could it mean? Was it a vision or did I travel the astral plane?" Chai asked, looking at me with wide eyes and a big smile.

I just stood there in shock. He'd described...Darren, I think. Darren was the only boy I knew who knew about me and my friends with wild dark hair and "awesome" green-yellow eyes and could travel the astral planes.

"I...I think you traveled across the astral planes and met Darren," I finally replied, gazing at Chai with wonder. How could he travel the astral planes? Why did he meet Darren? There had to be a reason that I just didn't know yet.

"Awesome!" Chai and Pico declared at the same time, and then high-fived, huge grins on their faces.

"Mine was some kind of freaky memory, I think. My mom was all crazy and my dad killed her and left the house to burn. Then there was this girl who seems to be following me. She's got dark long hair and these blue-green eyes. She keeps saying stuff about pasts and futures and destinies. Who do you think she is?" Pico asked, glancing at me.

Once again, I was shocked. Pico had just described the girl who had warned me of Cassie. "I...I don't know her name, but I've seen her before. I think she's some kind of guardian," I finally replied, meeting Pico's vibrant green eyes. He seemed confused and excited at the same time. Of course he was. He'd never encountered anything like this before, and neither had Chai.

"Woo! Dude, we're in the loop now!" Pico whooped, and then high-fived Chai again. Both had huge face-splitting grins on their faces as they began to do a weird little happy dance. Mokka and I watched on with no emotion, and then my emotion slowly grew to horror. They were still dancing when Lassi and Sorbet came back.

The two exchanged bewildered glances as Lassi asked, "What's with those two?" Mokka just shook his head and said nothing, while I sighed and then face-palmed at their continued antics.

"It's Pico and Chai. They've always been a little loopy," Sorbet deadpanned, and then a small smile stole across her countenance, her eyes fond as she watched Pico acting like an idiot with the boy he used to bully. Lassi nodded in agreement and gave a small laugh, amused. I saw Mokka twitch and I shifted my attention toward him. His focus seemed to be centered around Lassi, and I gave a small smile. So, maybe Mokka was starting to care for Lassi.

As we stood, the ground trembled, and we all sensed a shift in the atmosphere. "What was that?" Chai asked, finally stopping his ridiculous dance to look around in confusion.

"Was that the gate to Shadra opening?" Sorbet wondered aloud.

"Indeed it was, young heroes," a luminite said as it appeared near us, making us jump. How had we not noticed its approach? "Follow me." It started floating away, and we followed after we calmed down from the near heart attack the creäture had given us. The luminite led us to a room near the very back of the palace where there was a ladder that led to the lower levels. "Down here is the gate. All you need is a master engineer to activate it. I shall send the dwarf Grenadine down to aid you. Good luck, young heroes." With that, the luminite floated away, and I started climbing down the ladder, my friends following my lead.

I was barely halfway down when a shot came out of nowhere, going off right near my head. Startled, I released my grasp, and screamed as I felt myself falling. "Nadia!" I heard Lassi shout, before I hit the ground on my back, all the wind knocked out of me.

"Nadia, are you okay?" I heard Pico ask, and when I opened my eyes, he was standing over me, and so were Lassi and Chai. All I could managed was a small groan of pain and a nod. Oh damn there were stars swimming over my head and I felt like I was going to be sick. Pico grasped my hand and hauled me to my feet. My head screamed in protest, but I tried to shake it off.

"So, we meet again, although it is reassuring to know it will be the last time, buk buk..." I knew that voice! Beak Fowler landed nearby, a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, because we're gonna end you after what you did to Detective Beignet!" Lassi shouted, her face scrunched up in anger. I scowled at the reminder. The Detective had been a good person and his life shouldn't have ended like that.

"Oh, the little bunny has a temper. Not that it'll help you any. You're just little children that are in way over their heads," Beak Fowler laughed. I'd had enough of his talk, and decided to attack now.

"Dazzle Darts!" I watched as the dark diamond shot right at him, and he cried out, though whether in surprise, pain, or anger, I wasn't sure. I smiled smugly as Beak Fowler glared at me.

"You'll pay for that with your life, little child. Rising Palm!" Then suddenly Beak Fowler was in front of me and his palm hit my midsection, causing me to go flying back. I hit the wall, crying out, and my head snapped back against a wall before I slid to the ground.

"Nadia!" I heard Lassi shout, and then I heard Beak Fowler preparing for another attack.

"One down, five to go. Lotus Barrage!" I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes, even as I heard Pico cry out in pain. "Correction, four to go, buk buk..." I heard the sound of a body hitting the floor, and yet still couldn't move. I didn't want to. That one attack had really hurt.

"No, Pico! Take this, you ugly fiend! Zap-O-War!" Sorbet cried, and I heard the sound of a portal opening. Finally, I managed to open my eyes and immediately thought I had gone crazy. A giant jellyfish had wrapped itself around Beak Fowler. He swore, even as the jellyfish faded away, and then he turned his fury on Sorbet.

"Shadow Die!" Sorbet's scream pierced my ears and I winced as I watched her go down. Slowly, I closed my eyes, and slipped into the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness.

~NOVA~LASSI~NOVA~

"Well, little bunny, looks like it's just you and me, buk buk..." Beak Fowler clucked, and then he let out a weird chuckle. I glanced around in a blind panic. One by one, my friends had fallen, barely able to land a mark on the evil bird. What should I do? I was weak! What could I do? I needed help. I started tugging on my ears and gnawing on my bottom lip. I'd always had a friend standing beside me, never had I had to face anything alone, even in the beginning of my days at the academy. I didn't even remember the short time where I'd had no younger siblings. It was always me and the many, many sisters and one little brother.

_"You've always had the power inside you," _a voice whispered, and I suddenly felt stronger than ever before. I felt like I could touch the sky. There was nothing beyond my grasp. I looked down at my paws, and saw them glowing with a yellow-orange power, and the black slowly crept in. I'd never felt this power...or this taint of evil. The blackness was not my own, but something else, and I couldn't decide if I hated it or loved it.

"Black Pteranodon!" A black wind symbol burned in the air before me, and then when it split open a black dinosaur flew out and crushed Beak Fowler. It dive-bombed him several times before spiraling up into the air and exploding in black flames that rained down and scorched the villain.

Beak Fowler coughed and fell to his knees, blood oozing out of random wounds as he muttered, "Impossible. Such a weak magician, and yet, you defeat me!" Then he fell to the ground, dead, and I could only stare in horror.

"Lassi, you did it!" I heard someone gasp behind me, and I turned to see my friends climbing to my feet. It was Nadia who had spoken, and she had a proud smile on her face. I rushed to help my friends up.

"Come on, let's hurry to the gate!" I urged as I helped Nadia and Chai limp along, while Mokka, Sorbet and Pico helped each other. We went through one room, then the other, and we all hurried onto the platform. We didn't have to wait long for Grenadine to come running in and work his engineering magic. The gate lit up, and just as we saw Beak Fowler enter weakly with a bomb before collapsing, finally truly dead, Durum ran in, grabbed the bomb up, and ran back out.

"Durum!" We all screamed as the white light of the gate enveloped us.

* * *

><p>Ta-da! Chapter 14! It took forever, fought me tooth and nail, and still ended up the longest! I really hated Nova which is why this is so drug-out and random. At the end it seems rushed because Lassi was kind of in shock. Next chapter should be easier, better, and longer! Then there's just an epilogue after that and that'll be the end of book 1!<p>

Oh, also, I spent a week in San Antonio, which also explains why there were delays! Bear with me, people, this story is coming to a close slowly but surely!

Hyperpink4/Shallowheart4, thanks for sticking with me for so long and putting up with my slowness! You rock!

Review everyone!


	15. Shadra

Hey guys! Here's the almost-last chapter! Sorry it took so long! I just picked at it until it was perfect. So, appreciate it! Also, the cave where Shadra is hidden is under a castle in this story, to fit with things a little better. Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign. This fact makes me sad...

* * *

><p>Chapter 15- Shadra<p>

When we arrived on Shadra, Pico immediately shouted out, "We need to go back! We need to make sure everyone's okay after that explosion!" The rest of us exchanged uneasy looks, unsure what to say or how to respond to the fire mage's outburst.

"Pico, I don't think we can go back," Sorbet said gently. Even after how mean she'd been to him, how mad she might have been, she still cared about Pico and didn't seem to want to be cruel. I would admit, even I'd have trouble doing something like that. This was just Sorbet's way of extending the olive branch of peace while gently breaking the news that Durum was probably dead anyways.

However, Pico immediately bristled, and I winced internally. Oh, so Sorbet wasn't getting off that easy, apparently. Smitten or not, Pico did not forgive easily when he was ignored.

"How could you say that, Sorbet? How can you be so negative? After everything that they've done for us? Okay, sure, Durum was-is- a world-class asshole, but you can't give up on him! None of us can!" he extended his speech to include the rest of us, and I quickly glanced around. Chai was staring guiltily at the ground, Lassi was tugging on her ears again, and Mokka was the same as always. Even Sorbet looked slightly ashamed. Looks like I have to be the one to speak logically.

Stepping forward, I spoke with all the gentleness I could muster, "Pico, think logically on this. Durum knew the risks, and he was willing to take them. Everyone knew what could happen by helping us, but they did anyway. If we went back now, we would just be disappointing them. Time is running out, and we need to move forward to defeat Kale."

After my little speech, I could practically see the gears turning in Pico's head as he paused and actually processed what I'd said instead of going off on another rage-filled tangent. Finally, Pico reluctantly nodded in agreement. Sorbet's jaw practically hit the ground at that, and I saw the jealousy burning in her eyes, jealousy that Pico chose to listen to me and not her, and Chai and Lassi quickly stifled their giggles at the look on Sorbet's face.

"Let's move forward. Everyone will follow." We all turned to where the voice originated in shock, and a shadowy outline of Semolina hovered behind Mokka, smiling in that kind way that she always did.

"What?" I asked stupidly, staring in shock even as the image faded away, leaving just Mokka standing there, looking about as befuddled as a robot could.

"I said, 'let's keep going,'" Mokka snapped, and then turned and marched out of the area. We looked at each other in wonder, unable to believe we'd just seen that. Semolina had been with us all along, hadn't she? Watching over us with the help of a robot so in tune with the earth he didn't even know those long dead and returned to dust could communicate through him.

Filled with wonder and a new sense of hope, we hurried after Mokka, leaving the glowing runes of the starway behind and being swallowed by the eternal darkness of Shadra.

~SHADRA~SHADRA~

I had never felt anything like this, except in dreams that never felt real enough to be anything more than my delusional mind trying to make me feel like I belonged somewhere. It was a feeling unlike any other, and I could not even begin to describe it.

It was, power. Elation, home, evil, terror, happiness, foreboding, and yet...I loved everything I felt about it. Whatever caused this, here in this dark world, I'd never felt more alive, more at home, at peace, and yet I felt like this planet itself was almost an extension of myself. Was this how all my friends felt when they were on their own planets in power? Somehow I doubted it. Their planets were pure, but this one...it was ruined by something.

The land that gave me such feelings was ravaged, as though someone had plowed through and attempted to mow everything down. However, the darkest spire, a once glorious looking castle loomed in the background, and as we traveled I noticed that we could see it anywhere on the planet. Despite the enigmas that crawled out of their pits of hell, I could just imagine this land was once beautiful and wonderful.

Finally, I just stopped walking, uncaring as my friends walked on ahead of me, seeming to not notice that I had dropped back. I stared at the castle as it towered over the land. It was truly beautiful, even in ruin, and so very familiar. I closed my eyes, and an image came to me.

Behind my closed lids I saw a sky that was eternally a twilight, and a land that flourished with dark blooms of every kind. Small houses dotted the hillside, people with dark hair and dark eyes and glimmering skin smiling happily and using their dark magic in their every day lives. Over it all stood the castle, shadowed and colored darkly with spiraling towers and arched windows and doors. I'd never seen anything like it. It was too beautiful for words.

When I finally opened my eyes again, my friends were nowhere to be seen and were probably unaware I was even gone. In a sense, it was a good thing, because they might have seen the evil growing in my violet eyes.

~SHADRA~SHADRA~

Enigmas are a joke. They divide into their little classes of strength and then when I went to fight them, I saw no difference in their attacking. Perhaps it was the planet, though. I've never sensed anything quite like it...I'm not sure how to feel about this place, though.

Silent as a shadow, I crept toward the cave that I'd spotted that stood under the castle. I heard Chard's familiar cackle, and I sighed to myself. Damn it, I really hate that bastard. He just won't die! Then I perked up when I heard Chai's voice. Ah-ha! Found them!

I leapt out of the shadows to land crouched in front of the other dark magician, between him and my friends. "You would dare challenge me?" he demanded. "Here on this most awesome of planets, where my power is strongest?! The King's evil flows strong here...do you sense it, little dark mage? The power of evil that controls this place? Do you dare challenge me?"

I did not pause as I let the darkness seep from my very being as I replied, "Shadra is not yours to command, nor does it belong to the King of Shadra. I take strength from the planet just as you do. I will destroy you this time!"

"Dazzle Darts!" Chard shouted, and then the black diamond shot towards me. Thinking quickly, I spun away, but forgot to calculate the fact that my friends were behind me, and I paused when I heard Sorbet cry out in pain. My eye twitched in annoyance.

"Get back!" I snarled at them, and they scrambled to obey. However, Chard had taken advantage of my momentary distraction, dashing forward to roundhouse kick me in the head. Stars danced before my eyes as I collapsed to the ground, but I just barely had the sense to roll away as his foot smashed down where my head had been just seconds before.

I kicked him in the knee as I staggered back to my feet and then kicked him in the head. His hand shot out and he snarled, "Dazzle Darts!" That close, I couldn't dodge, and the dark diamond slammed into me, knocking me away from im. My back skidded across the ground and the old wounds across them became inflamed again. Damn it! How many times would those things split open?!

"Blood Money!" I shouted, and the spell leapt at Chard. When the magic came back to me, I staggered at the overwhelming amount of health I'd gained just from that one attack. I'd never felt anything like it before...

I looked over at Chard, and darkness flashed dangerously across my eyes, and we leapt at each other, diamonds and cubes and arcs of darkness travelling between us, with the occasional punch thrown in. Finally, I leapt back and shouted, "Zero Joker!" The portal opened, and then the Grim Reaper came through to take Chard. One final blow, that was all it took, and Chard hit the ground. As the Reaper I'd summoned retreated back to his world, I stood over Chard, and ripped the sword from his back.

_"Do it! Do it! Do it!"_ Voices chanted in my head, cheering me on, and I grinned despite myself. The voices sounded familiar, but I couldn't place them. Either way, I was inclined to listen to them.

"This time, STAY DEAD!" I shouted, and then swung the sword downward. It was a good sword, apparently, as there was little to no resistance as it imbedded deeply, then through, Chard's neck. Carelessly, I tossed the sword aside, and called to my friends, "Let's move; we've got a universe to save."

~SHADRA~SHADRA~

Deeper and deeper into the caves we went, the air growing thick, monsters mutated so grotesquely it was impossible to tell what they were before this, springing onto our path with evil intent, and still, deeper we delved. The tunnels snaked and curved and we descended spiraling staircases that looked as though they'd once been apart of the castle above. What had happened here? There was a rumble in the distance, and I knew not what it was, until we rounded another corner and froze in horror at what we saw. There...there was a giant worm, eating gummied pirate otters. They had to have been magicians at some point, because Sorbet supplied that she'd read somewhere that Shadra could only eat magician gummies.

"Is...is that Shadra?" Lassi asked fearfully, and I shrugged, opening my mouth to say something, only for Pico to beat me to the punch,

"Gotta be! Let's kill it before it starts eating our sun and the other planets!" Pico punched his closed fist into his open palm and started forward. Chai nodded eagerly and followed him. The rest of us hesitated, but I knew we couldn't let those two fight without us there, or they'd be killed. So I followed, and the other three followed me.

Pico and Chai had already started wailing on the thing, and the rest of us joined in.

"Cactus Crush!"

"Heat Fondu!"

"Zap-O-War!"

"Boulder Bash!"

"Zero Joker!"

"Falcon Dive!"

On it went, and the worm didn't move to retaliate. It was a little disturbing how it sat there and let us beat it up. However, the battle seemed to go forever, with us attacking and the worm still eating as though we weren't even hurting it, and I was starting to get kind of tired.

However, it was Lassi who was finally fed up with this insanity. "Black Pteranodon!" I jumped in shock at the name of that spell. That was not something any wind magician should be able to do. A black wind symbol was burned into the air, and then the portal split open. It was nothing I'd ever seen before, but...what had caused it? Was this from combining our magic on Erd?

The black dinosaur smashed into the worm, and it finally gave a last scream and died. We were all silent for a moment, and thoughts were running through my head. The one that was most prominent, however, was the one that Sorbet voiced.

"That was almost too easy." I couldn't help but agree. I'd been preparing myself for a much larger fight than this, and my instincts were screaming at how something wasn't right; nothing was ever as easy as that last battle had just been.

"Well, we've still got to find Miss Madeleine and deal with Kale! Maybe Shadra wasn't at full strength yet," Chai offered, Pico nodding in agreement with a smug look on his face, as though it was him and not Lassi who had dealt the killing blow. I was still unsure, but I nodded to Chai and gestured for my friends to follow me, and off deeper into the cursed caves beneath the ruined castle we went. We all knew Kale would be the most difficult villain we'd ever faced, as he'd read the Book of the Darned and would have all sorts of spells and tricks we'd never seen or even heard before.

Deeper into the caverns we went, the temperature slowly dropping as we went lower below the dark ground, until I could see my breath in the air in front of me. And the further below we were, the less ruined the tunnels looked. Oh sure, there was still that gummy substance coating the walls, but woven tapestries from a time long forgotten were still there, still mostly intact. The carved stone stairs were woven with detail by a master craftsman, and I could only wonder at how long it might have taken to make something like that.

"What is this place...and what happened here?" Sorbet asked no one in particular. I didn't answer her question, not even to say that I hadn't a clue. To speak and break this silence here, felt almost like a crime. There was something in these hallowed walls that seemed so very familiar, and it scared me. We passed rows of cages as we travelled, and some still had skeletons chained and hanging within them. There were medical rooms, with rotted cots that had metal straps falling off them. There were hanging tools of the most cruel torture, rusted from many long years untouched, and covered in grime.

Finally, we reached the bottom level, and we walked along. This cavern was made of rougher stone, making me think it was not carved by any stone mason, and that time had made this natural structure itself. Directly ahead of us...was Miss Madeleine. She was a glowing blue gummy like the pirate otters we'd seen so many levels above, and I felt my heart stop. Was our beloved teacher dead?

We went to race towards her, but Kale materialized right in front of us, practically from nowhere. "My, my, I'm impressed you've made it this far. Although, considering how weak Chard is, I shouldn't be too surprised...Ah, but you want your beloved teacher back, yes? Well, come and take her!" Kale declared. He was shrouded completely in his cloak, even his face mostly hidden, apart from one eye and tufts of blond hair escaping the wrapping he'd wrapped around his head.

Before we could engage in battle, Kale's hands began to glow an odd color and he held his hands over his head. The gummy particles started to shift and move, until...they formed a towering, eyeless giant with a large sword from its back. I'd never seen anything like it before. Kale must of learned it from the Book of the Darned.

"Holy shit!" Pico yelped, jumping back in his shock, head tilted back to look up at the gummy giant. "Hey, uh, Nadia...got any spells that'll summon a GIANT demon? 'Cause, I don't think that short little two-headed thing is going to be of any help here!" I didn't respond. If I tried to call my demon protector, I honestly didn't know if it would come, if it would be killed, it's fighting skills...it was worth a shot, I guess.

"Keep it distracted!" I told my friends, as I removed myself from the immediate vicinity. With battle cries, my friends attacked, going instantly for the giant. I stood near the stairs we'd just come down and began to chant, "Obumbrata viis nostris pessimis ima videmus. Malum inter se colliso, cum nostris obumbrata vias et unit duas vitas in saecula. Amicus fidelis custos est alligata anima una, nec distrahi potest. Surge fidem meam, Surgite!"*

For a moment, nothing happened, and I held my breath, fearing the Demon Protector wouldn't come. Then, same as before, it gradually materialized and stared at me with those intelligent eyes.

I pointed it towards the battle, specifically at Kale since I would not risk setting the Demon Protector on the giant and getting it destroyed. The Demon Protector didn't hesitate. I immediately leapt into battle, attacking the Gummy Giant. "Zero Joker!" I shouted, and the portal ripped the fabric of the universe open before our very eyes and the ultimate dark magician came through, bringing the scythe down and through the gummy giant. However, for once, instead of retreating immediately after the attack, the Reaper remained. I took a moment to stare in awe as the Reaper and the Gummy Giant paid attention only to each other, each determined to destroy the other.

I was quickly jolted out of my thoughts as Kale cast a spell over the Demon Protector and right at me. "Insect Bullets!" I didn't have time to dodge. Tiny silver dots slammed into me, incredibly fast. It was like getting pelted with a bunch of tiny, silver pebbles, only it was a lot more painful. Kale hit me with a surplus of attacks, even as my friends attacked him he didn't shift his attention from me. I thought this was surely the end.

I closed my eyes as I felt my strength ebbing away, awaiting the end. Then, in my mind's eye, there was Darren and the strange girl. Both looked panicked. _"No! Nadia! You're stronger than this! You can't give in! On your feet! Fight! FIGHT!" _they both started yelling at me, and then Darren's hands lit up with pure light magic, and the girl's lit up with the darkest shadows. These visions sent their magic to me, and I felt my strength return ten-fold.

I didn't even register anything at first. I just knew I was on my feet, hands held out towards Kale, who looked gleefully surprised. Subconsciously, I knew this was the end of him. He'd caused chaos and spread evil for far too long. It was time I put him in his place. Even if I couldn't kill him, there was someplace people like him belonged, where no innocents could ever be harmed again. "Hellish Vortex!" My hands glowed gray, even as the portal opened right beneath Kale, the ground under his feet fell away, and he fell down, down, down into the portal, and then it closed and Kale was no more.

~SHADRA~SHADRA~

The next hour was a blur of activity. The Grim Reaper defeated the Gummy Giant and dragged it off into his own portal, never to be seen again. Then my friends and I were racing towards the gummy of our teacher. We thought for sure she was dead. Then, to my disbelief, the gummy spoke to us. What she said made sense: to kill Shadra, you must free it. And I led the way. My friends and I freed Shadra, and the giant butterfly devil burst from its cocoon.

This thing, for which the planet and it's King had been named, had control of every element, which was quite alarming. every time I hit it, it would be, say, water, so when Mokka hit it, it would be wood. There was no distinct pattern and the creäture had no distinct affiliation for us to pinpoint and use to our advantage. Our best chance would be attacking as one, or one right after the other. If Shadra had no room to adapt, we would gain an advantage eventually.

Before I could tell my friends my plan, Dragon-Pico dealt the final blow to Shadra. The giant butterfly lay collapsed on the cool, stone ground, and my friends started cheering. I paused, staring at Shadra as it began to twitch. It wasn't dead, then. I knew it was too easy. "Guys," I said, but it was too late. In a burst of blinding light, Shadra shifted shape. I heard the bones inside the butterfly reshape with horrid cracking sounds, and then vine-like things grew from its back. The second form of Shadra eerily resembled the Ant Queen in shape.

"We beat this thing once, we can do it again," Pico said confidently. "Dragon's Tongue!" Flames engulfed the hot-headed teen as he turned to a dragon.

_"Shadra's second form is not something to be taken lightly!" _Darren's voice exploded in my head. I lifted my head, opened my mouth to shout for Pico to stop, only to watch in horror as the dragon was snatched by Shadra's spider-like fangs and seemed to drain the very life force from the dragon.

"Pico!" Sorbet screamed, as the flames that had been glowing beneath the dragon's scales were snuffed out, leaving only the limp teen clamped in Shadra's jaws. The insect demon creäture let Pico fall to the ground with not a care in the world, and its spindly legs stepped over him. The insect closed in on my friends and I, backing us up, until our backs were pressed against the sticky stone wall that was covered in the gummy substance that was all over the castle and cave systems.

So, this was the end, end, then? After everything we'd been through on this quest, all the near brushes with death, this was how it would end? Drained of life by a giant insect. Not exactly how I'd wanted to go... I closed my eyes and waited for the feeling of sharp fangs cutting into my skin.

_"Nadia! Nadia, listen to me! You might be powerful, but your power alone is not enough!" _I opened my eyes again and found myself between worlds, with the mysterious girl standing before me, a desperate look across her face. _"There is magic, a spell, you know it! Dark magicians are the only magicians in the universe that can reach their full potential on their own. Other mages never do. The spell you know is how other magicians unlock their full power. Cast it upon your friends, and you will win this battle!"_

Then my vision cleared and I saw what happened around me. My friends were in danger, we all were, only I could stop it! I heard myself speak, but I didn't know exactly what I was saying, "Natus in tenebris potentia nunquam saltus aqua, flamma, ventus, aut terra. Fusce quis potest per virtutem ex eo. Et proiecisti me in tenebris, videre possibile in eis, et cruentam manum mihi virtutem semel aperiunt periit!"**

A veil of darkness fell across all of my friends, and I only had time to wonder what I had done before tattoos appeared on all of my friends, glowing their each individual color of their element. Their eyes flashed, and then it was Sorbet who struck with a power and fury I'd never seen before, not even when Cassie and I fought, or Lassi used her Black Pteranodon.

"Torrential Fury!" Water particles in the air, moisture in the ground, it was all ripped from its place and gathered in the air, even as Sorbet pulled more and more water towards her. Then, a great water creäture formed, a leviathan. I watched in awe as the water-made creäture ripped some limbs off of Shadra before the insect finally shook it off. The leviathan become nothing more than a puddle even as Lassi attacked next.

"Storm's Kiss!" It was an odd name for an attack, I decided, since there was nothing like a "kiss" about it. It was like chaos incarnate. In fact, that one attack did more damage to Shadra, the tunnels, and the castle, than any attack any of us had cast thus far. I could tell Shadra was faltering as the storm died down and my other friends began using their new powers as well. However, I doubted they knew it. They were in a trance, and I suspected that as soon as the battle was one, this extra power would abandon them.

One more attack from Lassi, and then it was done. Shadra imploded on itself, and as a bright light exploded outward, we were all thrown back. The last thing I was aware of was my back cracking against stone, pain, and then nothing.

* * *

><p>TRANSLATIONS<p>

*Below the earth we see the evil of our shadowed ways. The evil collides with our shadowed ways and unites two lives forever. A loyal companion guard tied to one soul, never to be torn apart. Arise my faith, Arise!

**Power is born in the dark, never of the wood, water, flames, wind, or earth. Dark can grant powers born of it. With my eyes cast in darkness, I see potential in them, and with hands stained with blood, I unlock a power once thought lost!

Here it is! Sorry it was so long coming! I promise the last chapter, the Epilogue, will be here a lot sooner. Review please!


	16. Epilogue

Hey guys! This is it, the end! I'm kinda sad about it... Ah, well I suppose there's still the rest of the series to think about. Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign. This fact makes me sad...

* * *

><p>Epilogue<p>

When I opened my eyes, I immediately noticed the changes. The gummy substance on the walls was gone and the foggy and heavy air had cleared, making me realize we'd been walking around in a death-trap.

I staggered to my feet, immediately regretting it as the world spun out of focus. I closed my eyes and placed a hand to my head, my other arm flung out in an attempt to keep myself balanced. I saw stars behind my closed eyelids, and only when those stars went away did I dare open my eyes again. Everything was well-focused and steady, so I took a few cautious steps towards my passed out friends. They were all slowly stirring, but Miss Madeleine was still in her gummy state, so I rushed to her, fearing the worst.

"Miss...Miss Madeleine?" I asked quietly. There was no response for a moment, and then as my friends started to stagger upright, there was a blinding flash of light from the gummy of our teacher, and then the gummy itself was gone, and Miss Madeleine's spirit hovered over all of us.

_"My students...I'm so sorry you had to endure this. These trials and tribulations, dragged into this war. And I'm sorry you had to see me like this. I want you to know I am so proud of all of you. I wish I could remain on to teach you more, but my time has come." _

We all started to protest, crying out to our teacher, imploring her to give up this nonsense and return to the Academy with us. She was the most powerful mage in all of Baklava. Surely she could save herself?

_"I cannot return with you. It is my time. You have made so many friends on your journey. They will teach you now. Let them guide you. I want you all to know that I am so very proud of you, and I know you will go on to do great things. Goodbye."_

"Miss Madeleine! Come back! You can't leave us!" Sorbet screamed as our beloved teacher faded away, forever. I felt completely numb while Sorbet and Lassi started to cry uncontrollably. Pico and Chai attempted to console them, and Mokka, much like myself, stared off into the distance. Everything was numb, this felt like a dream, I didn't want to believe this was happening. Any minute now I'd wake up in my dorm room, having overslept, and run to class, and Miss Madeleine would barge in the door only seconds after I'd settled into my seat.

I pinched my arm, just to be sure...nope. It wasn't a dream then. Miss Madeleine...was gone.

~STAR~STAR~

Everything was a blur as our friends whisked us from Chromagar Cave. We came back through the starway to find several celebrating dwarves and a grieving Farina. She was upset about Durum's death, but congratulated us on our victory all the same. We left her knowing that she would forever be our ally, now.

When our friends learned of our teacher's demise, that put a somber twist to the celebration. All we wanted at this point, though, was to get back to school. So we were ushered to our rocket, Neumann, and we blasted off into space, only stopping on Puffoon to deliver the news of Kale's defeat to the King. We were greeted as conquering heroes, and even the now uncorrupted Space Police saluted us.

However, this cheer felt hollow, these victories empty, for the cost of our hero status was a price we'd never wanted to pay. We left quickly and returned to Kovomaka. Our rocket landed in the roof, which seemed like it had been open and waiting for us since we left. Principal Biscotti was there, waiting for us. We all filed out, expecting to be scolded and told we were expelled. Instead, we just got a sad smile, and a hug each, with orders to return to our dorms. He knew. I don't know how, but he did. Principal Biscotti knew everything that had happened.

That first night back, as I stared out my dorm window at the stars in the night sky, and the full moon shining brightly, I thought long and hard. We'd come so far, but at a steep price. Miss Madeleine said we were destined for greatness, but was it the good kind, or the bad kind, like Kale had?

My hand went to the necklace I'd worn since the beginning, the only thing left of my family and my past. A past that terrified me. Ever since I'd started at Will-O-Wisp, all I'd ever wanted was to remember. Now, now that I remembered these fragments that might or might not be memories, I was conflicted. I thought for a minute, weighing the pros and cons. Mind quickly made up, I opened my dorm window, ripped off the necklace, and through it out into the night. I heard a soft splash as it landed in the pond in the gardens.

As soon as the little trinket was gone, a sense of calm enveloped me. I closed my window and smiled up at the sky as a shooting star shot passed. Satisfied, I climbed into bed, falling asleep with the strong feeling that everything would be just fine.

~STAR~STAR~

Far, far away, in another dimension, someone was watching everything that happened. Eyes blazing with fury and hate swept around the room, traveling over his slaves and monsters. They watched him expectantly.

"The Princess knows nothing. The black sheep is no where to be found. I have the Keeper of Light on my side, and my troublesome wife is long dead. The King of Shadra...will rise again!"

* * *

><p>That's it guys, that's the last chapter!<p>

**Special Thanks To- **UndeadChick4/shallowheart4, xXYuki-SamaXx, Unknown, and Artkittenjade for all the awesome reviews!

**P.S.** Be on the lookout for the sequel: **The Secrets that Lie Beyond.**

One last review would be AWESOME, guys! See ya!:)


End file.
